The Mobius Code: Tribulations
by Syaoron the Fox
Summary: Banished by his own city. Hardened by his own means. 9 months since the previous installment, Tails and Cosmo are back on the grid, better than ever. Could they be the one asset that truly helps end the war? R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! Here I am, posting the first chapter of Tribulations on everyone's favorite day of the year! Well, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad and all those other holidays around this date. Enjoy and remember to read and review!**

* * *

><p>G.U.N. Headquarters<p>

December-7-3456

18:30 Mobius Time

It was a dark room, the main operations room. That is, aside from the dim lighting provided by the red lights overhead and the other miscellaneous colors of light provided by computer screens. There were three significantly large screens on the far wall. On the right, it displayed battlefields and current situations occurring in them with satellite technology.

The screen on the left depicted live video feed from soldiers on the battle field. Some of the thirty smaller screens were filled only with static, heeding the worst. Every time a screen fizzed out, they computer operators had a short prayer for the poor souls. In his down time, one operator had a rosary out and was repenting the Hail Mary prayer for the fallen men.

The middle screen showed the insides of a file labeled: **Armed Forces**.

It broke down into two other files, which included soldiers separated by branches of the army and soldiers that are separated by their health status.

That was all on the first floor of the room. On the second floor, there were operators checking phone calls, acknowledging statuses and approving or disapproving of airstrike requests. There was also a balcony that you could overlook the first floor from.

One specific operator was checking the security cameras. It wasn't an important job, but it needed to be done. He noticed that someone had buzzed for access to the main control room and put himself on speaker.

"General!" He shouted, causing a grey wolf in front of him to turn in his direction. He had a scar below his left eye and was wearing a green suit with five stars over his heart. "There are two people who want access to the room."

The General, his name was Felix O'Donnell, turned his head slightly so he could listen with more ease. "Can you identify them?"

The security official shook his head. "The only recognizable feature is that their wearing huge black cloaks with the Roman numeral IX on them."

The General's eyes widened slightly, and smiled softly. "Good; send them in." He affirmed.

The security official nodded and pushed a button for his microphone. "Visitors, you are clear for entry. Please, come in."

The figures came in through a door behind the General, who was looking at the screens. He fiddled his hand around in his pocket and found what he was looking for. It was a nice, short cigar with the brand name _Villa Clara_ on it. He took out a lighter and lit the stogy, taking in a quick smoke.

"How are you two today?" He asked them politely while blowing smoke out his mouth, cigar in hand.

One figure walked forward and showed himself in the light, though almost all his body was hidden by the draping cloak besides his feet, which sported sneakers that were half white, and half red, divided perpendicular to the shoe's length.

"Let's cut to the chase, General. You know we can't stay here for too long." The figure said. It was obviously a male's voice, but it was not as deep as you might expect.

He nodded and turned toward them. "Jenkins! Pull up the file." He bellowed across the room. A moment later, the **Soldier Status **file on the middle screen was pulled up. In one file was a pie chart, marked: **Percent K.I.A.** Jenkins opened this file and showed a circle chart that showed about thirty percent of active soldiers being killed in action and twenty percent were wounded. The remaining fifty percent were active in duty.

"I'm not going to lie to you two. We are losing this war, and we need your help." He said, sparking interest in the two.

The first figure nodded. "What can we do for you?" He asked.

At O'Donnell's cue, a 3-D spinning image of an oil rig appeared. "Our Intel shows that this _oil rig_ is a secret manufacturing plant for Eggman's robots." He explained. "His artificial intelligences have been enhanced, giving the robots almost sentient intelligence. We want you to infiltrate the oil rig, recover blueprints on the robots, and blow the rig sky high."

There was a short silence before the figures nodded and turned away. "I want our secrecy secured though, okay?" The second figure said. It was obvious that she was female.

The General nodded in understanding. "This will be archived as a Black Operation." He assured them. He noticed uneasiness in the two as well, so he said, "If it makes you feel better, I don't agree with the idiotic politicians. I think you're innocent."

They stopped for a while and the first figure turned. "Your one of the few." He said, before turning and running out quickly with his partner. If you looked close, you could catch a glimpse of his nine tails.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 1**

**9 Months Later**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Oil Rig #19, The Shivery Sea

December-8-3456

1:17 Mobius Time

It was early in the morning at Oil Rig #19, and it looked like your average rig. From a distance, that is. It was so far out in the frigid waters, Mobians rarely came out this far, even in the summer. Glaciers would drift by the support shafts, making contact and erupting in a loud "dong" every now and then.

It was, however, not your average oil rig.

The robots that guarded the rig were the average Rooks, Knights and Bishops, but they had a developed A.I. that made them almost human in nature. On the outskirt edges of the rig, two humanoid, Mobian sized Knights serve as guards.

"Cripes! Is it cold or what!" One of them complained. As is shown, Eggman's Artificial Intelligence programing has improved. "How cold do you think it is?" It has to be below freezing, right?" The backdraft of this was that they had also developed emotions, original thoughts, and the inevitable complaints.

The other Knight, his self-assigned name was Murphy, was growing tired of his complaining but he put up with it nonetheless. "Well, there's ice so… yeah, freezing." He retorted while Laurence, the other Knight, continued to complain.

"You know who doesn't have guard patrol, in the ice?"

Murphy made another mechanical sigh. "I'm sure you'll tell me."

"Larry!" He accused of the Rook who wasn't there. "I bet he's sleeping, right now! Back in his tower, resting his big melon head on a soft pillow!"

Larry was considered the top dog, and due to that, he got a lot of perks, such as late _sleeping_. He was the most envied robot of them all. "Yeah, that's Larry." Murphy affirmed.

They walked into a nearby room to escape the cold and make a regular security check. Murphy checked the door on the opposite side of the room as Laurence continued to bellyache. "You know, I had lookout duty, eight weeks straight? Eight weeks, man!"

Lookout duty was considered the best job. All you did was sit in an air-conditioned room and make regular rounds on the windows to check for intruders. You could see all of the beautiful scenery from up there, and when the sun glistened off of the icebergs, it was quite the sight. Murphy felt a twinge of jealousy for his partner momentarily. "Yeah, lucky you." He commented.

"So I make **one **comment to the C.O. about Larry, and that's it for me." Laurence continued, "Larry gets _my_ lookout duty, and I get to freeze my processors out here with you."

After making his check, he turned around to berate his partner with more complaints… only to find that he wasn't there.

"Murphy?" He asked, trying to find his comrade. He stepped out the door he'd been guarding and looked around. There wasn't a person in sight and it was eerily silent outside as all that could be heard was the whistle of the wind. "Stop messing around, Murph'!" He threatened, continuing to look around the walkway. The waves were crashing into the structure at a continuous rate, adding to the nervousness he felt.

He reached for the M1911 Colt pistol in his holster and held it out in front of him.

"You know, you robots leave too many openings."

Laurence turned around to face the perpetrator and found himself face to face with a yellow fox. Only this one had nine tails.

The fox waved his hand aside and severe wind formed, blowing Laurence into the cold waters below. He screamed as he fell into the icy sea below.

"Hey, Cosmo, are we clear?" He spoke into a radio transponder.

On a column from which steam rose a couple buildings south of him, Cosmo lied down with her Barrett M82 out in front of her. On top, it had a thermal scope and at the end there was a sound suppressor. She wore a similar black cloak to Tails', with the Roman numeral IX emblazoned on the back in reddish-orange. The hood was pulled down and it was unbuttoned below her waist, showing that she still wore her green dress underneath.

"Yes, Tails, your clear, but watch your corners." She advised him over the radio. "This steam is good for cover, but it's distorting with my thermals. The cold isn't helping."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He replied. He searched his surroundings and ducked behind cover. "Cosmo, I've got two Tangos on my six. Take 'em out for me."

"Roger." She replied. Using the thermal optics, she easily spotted the two robots he referred to. "Keep your head low, Tails." She suggested before quickly unloading two high caliber rounds into the robots.

There was barely a sound from the muzzle as the robots dropped to the floor. "Alright, Tails. The next patrol is in fifteen minutes. Make your move." She informed him, at which he nodded.

He disposed of the metallic bodies in the ocean before rushing on. He stayed just below the speed of sound so as not to make a noise. His feet pattered almost noiselessly as he made his way to the room and rushed inside the door. Robots were guarding the corridors, so he made his way between pillars and computer equipment as quietly as possible.

He soon found the primary objective, a large computer that held the blueprints he was looking for. "I see the console." He told her through the radio. "I'm going to initiate the transfer."

"Copy your last." She affirmed, returning to her scouting. She then saw something that made skin crawl.

"Tails, I've got something on the thermal behind you!" She shouted into the radio.

Tails, struck with fear turned around immediately to see a Knight, blankly staring at him. Tails raised his right hand at him and scowled. Right next to the robot was a conveniently placed alarm button. "Don't… even… think about it." He warned the bot.

The robot was afraid of the intruder, knowing very well who he was. He looked at the intruder, then at the button, and back at the intruder again, thinking about duty over self-preservation. _To hell with it_ the robot thought and he rushed for the button.

Reacting quickly, Tails shot the robot with a bolt of wind energy, tearing a hole the size of a quarter in its head. He didn't account for the fact that the forward momentum kept it traveling towards the button.

"Oh snap…" He said to himself while pulling the USB drive with the downloaded documents. "About to get loud."

The robot fell limp against the button and everything hit the fan from there.

Loud alarms blared throughout the rig, alerting every guard on the manufacturing plant. Cosmo heard it all and sighed. "Always flashy with you, huh Tails?" She questioned to herself, rolling her eyes. She jumped down, landing softly behind two other Knights.

She took their heads and bashed them together, rendering them inoperable. Over the radio, she told him, "I thought we were supposed to keep this silent!"

Tails shook his head as he ran down a walkway adjacent to hers. "Sorry, Cosmo! Meet me at the helipad for extraction!" He replied. He met a couple robots along the way and figured he had to deal with them.

While one Knight tried to rush him, the others stood back and fired their XK8 assault rifles at him. Tails smirked ad grabbed the one who was running at him with four of his nine tails, using him as a shield. When they finally stopped firing to reload, he hurled the squirming robot at them and used his own momentum to spin into a backhand. He then filled his tails with energy and diced them apart with them as if they were made of butter.

With no time to relax and his adrenaline pumping through his bloodstream, Tails set off for the helipad. While running across the thin walkways, he summoned columns of wind that tore through his enemies with ease, and he barely batted an eye.

Over the passing months, Tails had honed his senses and hardened his talents through several experiences. He learned that displaying emotions in public could ultimately lead to that person, or himself, becoming a target. His emotions were, hence forth, hidden in the public.

But out here, his emotions fueled him.

With his tails rotating behind him to provide an extra boost in speed, he performed his new move. Forming a bullet shaped barrier before him, he pushed himself to Mach 3 and tore through all robots in his path. "What pushovers!" He mocked as he continued to tear through the machines. He soon found himself in an open area with four robots.

Skidding to a stop, he landed in a fighting pose and was about to strike when he heard, "Watch your head!" and he immediately ducked down.

Cosmo came in, duel-wielding PP-2000s. She flipped over Tails, guns blazing and she had soon shredded the robots surrounding Tails.

"Your timing is always impeccable, Cosmo." Tails commented, leaving Cosmo with a smile of accomplishment on her face.

They then heard loud cracks and they dove behind opposite pillars. Cosmo looked around the corner briefly and announced, "Snipers! You got an idea?"

Tails nodded. "Alright; we switch on my mark!" He instructed her. "Ready? Mark!" He shouted and they switched places in perfect sync. Tails had grabbed a robot body on his way.

Afterwards, he dashed from behind cover with a war cry, using the bot as a shield. Cosmo followed up behind him, downing some snipers on the wall with her own rifle. Tails got just below the wall and created a wave of wind that cut through the robots or caused them to fall off.

While Tails was working on opening the door, Cosmo covered his six with her sniper. She gunned down a couple stragglers while Tails hacked the keypad, opening the door. "We're good; let's go!" Tails ordered after he got the door to open. They ran out into the open and knocked down robots with their expert teamwork that was also maximized over the last nine months.

Tails scooped an XK8 off the ground in mid-run and spotted a group of Knights up ahead. "SWITCH!" He yelled to Cosmo. He knelt and sprayed bullets in an arc that encompassed the robots in front of him while Cosmo jumped over his back and kicked one of the remaining robots. She quickly grabbed its SPAS-12 shotgun and shot high-velocity pellets at the bots in front of her. The spray hit several robots and she smirked; pumping the action back and forward again. She continued this repetition of shooting and quickly cocking the action till the remainder of the forces were gone, leaving them in the helipad area… with robots surrounding them on all sides on elevated walkways.

"Aw, come on!" Cosmo complained, backing herself against Tails.

One Knight was colored differently, being black rather than the normal red. "Attention Intruders!" It bellowed, "Stand down, you're surrounded! Give us the data file now!" He rambled on about their capture and whatever while Cosmo and Tails formulated a plan.

Quickly analyzing the numbers of the enemy, Tails decided, "Cosmo, I'm going Gale. Stay out of this."

She nodded and stood aside for a moment. It took him a bit of concentration, as he hadn't done this in a while, but it all paid off with a satisfying click and the normal rush of energy. A large white aura appeared around him as he looked at the robots around him.

"Come get some." He taunted before raising his arms and calculating all the while. "CYCLONE SCYTHE!" He shouted while bringing his arms down, hailing a gust that was blown in the direction of the enemies, siphoning them.

With the numbers lowered and the walkways destroyed, leaving the robots on the same play floor, Tails got busy. Covering his arms in energy, he sped forward at Mach 1, dicing robots one by one. Cosmo provided accurate cover fire with her sniper all the while. At the speed he was going, with the white aura still around him, Tails look like a white and yellow blur breezing by; destroying all the robots in sight.

The small army lasted no more than a few more minutes before they were among the scrap heap. "Well, I'd say that was worth tripping the alarm for." Tails summarized. "We better leave before they regroup."

Cosmo nodded and they were about to take off when a gaping hole opened up on the platform before them. They could hear an elevator rising as a humongous robot appeared from it.

This model had a Gatling gun on one of its shoulders and a rocket pod on the next. It also had a long sword in one hand that was befitting of its immense size. The head was rounded and its armor was a dark gold color. This was the Egg Emperor 2.0.

They stared at the new threat with blank looks on their faces. Tails narrowed his eyes at the robot, studying its every weakness. He noticed that this was an older model, as shown by cracks in the armor.

He then frowned. "What… is that it?" He asked out of disappointment. His white aura grew ever bigger as he inverted to Cyclone Tails by opening the next gate. He held his arm in the air and began gathering energy.

Seeing an opportunity, the robot fired its Gatling gun, spraying bullets at the target. Tails stood there, brushing the bullets aside. In his right hand, which was raised, a sphere of concentrated energy spun. It emitted a high-pitched whir that sounded like a constant ringing.

He ran forward and plunged the sphere into the robot, tearing it apart from the inside. The robot collapsed, inoperable and irreparable. "C'mon Cosmo, let's get out of here." He said.

She nodded and was soon swooped up and into his arms. He spun his nine tails, slowly at first. About ten seconds later, it was an orange blur that looked like helicopter blades. They zoomed away from the construct and Tails smirked at another job well done. Cosmo reached through her pocket and clicked a detonator, blowing the rig to kingdom come.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Miniature Chapel Room, Castle Acorn

December-8-3456

9:57 Mobius Time

Castle Acorn, which was all that remained standing of Mobotropolis aside from G.U.N. HQ, had a nice little chapel. It was filled with whites and purples and was currently holding a Mass. A cross hung from the ceiling above the area where the priest was preaching.

"We celebrate today, as the Feast Day of the Conception of the Holy Immaculate Virgin Mary." A purple hedgehog in a purple robe was preaching. "She was conceived in the womb of Saint Ann, and since then she was blessed with God's Holy Prevenient Grace. From her very birth, she was destined to hold our savior, Jesus Christ." He finished. He then gave the necessary dismissal, and the crowd was let go.

From the crowd, Sonic the hedgehog walked up to the priest and patted him on the shoulder. "Man, I didn't know the son I didn't know I had was such an accomplished priest." He complimented him.

Gary blushed slightly at the praise that he hadn't received from his father in so long. "Thanks… dad." He replied to him while turning to leave. He dipped his finger in the fountain of holy water that he had blessed and made the formation of the Cross over his body.

Everyone was waiting outside for them to head to breakfast. Once they joined up, they all traveled to the nearest juice bar, the _**Café Chaotix. **_It wasn't a well-known place, but it was quite small and quaint.

Plus, it was owned by a couple friends of theirs.

When they all walked in, they were met a by the young bee that acted as a waiter: Charmy. Behind the bar was a purple chameleon with various forms of ninja apparel on his body, including wrist guards and kunai holsters. He was Espio.

Finally, there was Vector, a green crocodile that played piano in the back. The twenty grabbed a couple tables and chairs to sit down and take a break. Then came the normal topic of conversation.

"So, do you think Tails is okay?" Cream asked, starting the general topic.

Shane shrugged. "Who knows? We can only hope for the best that those two are okay." He expertly answered, leaving a pocket for conversation.

An awkward silence occurred thereafter, leaving them wondering what to say next. Amy was the first to speak… or cry, rather.

"Who are we kidding?" She mumbled through her cries. "We can't keep our minds off of him for one moment, can we?"

All were silent after that. All conversations seemed to drift back to the yellow kitsune and his green significant other. Knuckles was seething with anger. "It's all because of that idiotic parliament!"

They nodded in unison. There was a place to hate those politicians in everyone's hearts.

"Can't say I disagree." Espio spoke from the bar. "Politics was always corrupt."

Charmy paused while serving another table to insert his two cents. "Amen to that!" He proclaimed, before continuing to serve tables their drinks.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Vector asked, bringing up the same topic.

At that moment, the door opened to reveal Geoffrey St. John, the skunk. "I'd say he'll be quite alright." He stated, while walking over to the table of twenty.

Shadow looked skeptically at him. "And what makes you so sure?"

St. John then smirked, holding up a document enclosed in a yellow envelope. "We got a lead on where the kit lives."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here I am , with yet another chapter! I have nothing more to say, so why are you reading this?**

* * *

><p>G.U.N. Headquarters<p>

December-25-3456

8:52 Mobius Time

G.U.N.'s main operations room was abuzz with light. In the relatively dark room, the sudden changes in color and luminosity from the three large screens seemed all the more drastic. Some of the few consistent sources of light were the dim red lights, bolted to the ceiling.

On the balcony of the second floor, General Felix O'Donnell paced back and forth, contemplating that which had been haunting him for the past few days. With a stogy in his mouth, and smoke coming out in large puffs, you could tell he was not alright. A nearby leopard, who kept tabs on the system to make sure there were no viruses, found herself watching the General more than her monitor, and she was not one to be easily distracted

The operator, known as Delilah by her peers, sighed and spoke up, "You know, sir, planning for missions like this can take weeks, maybe even months. Give them time. You've faced more panicking and stressful issues out on the battlefield, and you haven't broken a sweat, but look at yourself!"

O'Donnell readjusted his focus to her and took the cigar from his mouth momentarily. "Pray tell what that is supposed to mean, Delilah?" He asked her before returning the cigar to his mouth. The leopard sighed inwardly once more.

"What I mean is: quit worrying about it. We should be receiving word from them any day now." She replied collectedly.

The grey fox breathed outward again, but it came out in a steady stream. He smiled slightly and a peaceful expression returned to his face. He then nodded in her direction. "Thanks for the reminder."

Delilah meekly smiled and returned to her work. She noticed that a virus had momentarily appeared and she widened her eyes. Typing rapidly, she overrode the virus, expunging it from the system. It was those little moments that made her job exciting.

Not a full minute later, a golden cat ran in, wearing his green military uniform. On his right shoulder was a yellow patch that resembled two arrows stacked close together. One was on top of the other and they lacked the stem. This was the patch of a Corporal.

"SIR!" He saluted, snapping his right hand up to his forehead. "I have received a package for you!" He enthusiastically stated.

Felix returned the salute and retrieved the yellow envelope in the Corporal's hands. With no other words said, the golden cat left the room, leaving a curious General in waiting.

He unwound the tightened string and opened the envelope, revealing two things. One was a small flash drive in a steel case. The other was a typed note. He read the note slowly; capturing every word.

_Dear Felix O'Donnell,_

_Hey General. You're probably wondering why I hadn't reported yet, but this is it. I thought, "The holidays are upon us. Why not wait till then?" So, here are the oh-so important files that you've wanted. The so called "oil rig" is now a trash heap, as an added bonus. All objectives completed with ease._

_Merry Christmas,_

At the bottom of the note, where the signature would go, was a print instead. The seal had the Roman numeral IX surrounded by nine wavy lines that fanned outward.

Felix gasped at the flash drive and immediately injected it into the nearest available computer. It showed files and blueprints of designs he had never seen before. He was certain that these were the files and he would have them investigated by the best scientists and mechanics. _Impressive work, Miles._

He then reread the final part of the note and laughed inwardly.

_I appreciate the thought, Miles, _He thought, feeling embarrassed slightly, _but I'm Jewish._

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 2**

**Long Time, No See**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Pagus Vulpes*

December-25-3456

12:27 Mobius Time

In a large clearing of the Great Forest, in five inches of snow, the small community of Pagus Vulpes existed. It was a lively community with a very unlikely feature. This small town was inhabited almost solely by foxes! Every now and then, you'd see another breed, but mainly those that were similar to foxes, like wolves or dogs, but it was mainly foxes that lived in this town.

Most things were not very technologically run here, giving it the representation that it was very homely. Nonetheless, the citizens somehow caught wind of Tails' banishment and all within were firm believers of his innocents. Ever since the Parliament banished Tails from Mobotropolis, they had enlisted a law that would require the removal of all those who were of non-fox origin.

Basically, if none of your ancestry has a direct fox bloodline, you're not allowed into the community.

It was because of these defined traits that a certain nine-tails fox was allowed to walk freely in the market, without his over-cumbersome cloak on. He let his tails wave freely in the air behind him as he was greeted gladly by his fellow neighbors.

When he had first arrived, the community had named him a hero for what he had done for Mobius. It wasn't till three months later, after they had gone through trouble of making a dignified statue and putting his insignia on the city coin, that they began treating him as simply one of the community.

He wasn't sure he deserved all that thanks, but they had let up eventually. Tails still walked by his statue regularly. It was basically an entirely golden Tails with his nine tails flaring out and his right fist held upward, as if in victory. It was ten-fold the size of the kitsune, however.

Today, he was picking up groceries for Cosmo to make her meals out of. The small town always believed in fresh fruits and vegetables as making the best meals. Tails couldn't complain; they sold the best harvest food he had eaten in a while.

Winter was here, so Tails made sure to by extra to last them through the cold days, when food would be less abundant. He made petty conversation with the merchant while he selected and paid for the wide variety of fruits and veggies.

"Well, if it isn't the big hero, Tails!" The middle aged red vixen exclaimed. "What can I do for you?"

Tails laughed heartily at the remark. "Oh, I'm just picking out groceries for Cosmo to make dinner from, Tally." He explained. "Why so enthusiastic today?"

The vixen addressed as Tally smiled in reply. "Aren't I always the enthusiastic one?" She replied, receiving a shrug from Tails.

"I suppose you are." He affirmed, picking out a couple tomatoes here and there and… _is that a Mango? _He thought before immediately snatching a couple of the avocado shaped fruits.

She then remembered something. "So, where've you been the past couple of days? I haven't seen you or Cosmo in a while."

Tails shifted his position a little to get a better look at the basket of walnuts. "Oh, we had another assignment from G.U.N."

She whistled at the mention. "You're still doing assignments for a city that banished you?"

Tails shook his head. "I'm not doing it for the city." He disproved, getting her to stop what she was doing and pay attention. "I'm doing this for the people."

Tails then looked in a direction, as if staring off into space. "Every day, people are dying, Tally. The world needs our skills, so we need to do what we can while remaining under the grid." He told her, receiving an understanding nod.

"So, what was your mission?" She asked, curious as to what it actually was.

Tails smirked. He enjoyed bragging sometimes, because he licked the self-confidence it gave him. "We had to infiltrate Oil Rig #19 in the Shivery Sea. Turns out, it's a factory for some of Eggman's robots." She awed at the story he told, as she normally did when the kitsune told tales of his missions.

"Our objective was to extract blueprints and data that could be beneficial to the Mobian army. It was a gold mine! There were all sorts of information from the materials the robots are made out of, down to even the thought patterns they normally have. After we extracted what we need, we created some chaos, escaped, and set the whole rig aflame.

She awed at the shortened version of the story. "Wow! So that's why you were gone for the past few days?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Cosmo and I were perfectly synced that day. It was teamwork to the max."

She laughed a little at his rambling. "I really think you two should get married." She cooed, receiving a nervous nod from Tails.

"I know." He said. "Still, we're too young. I'll ask her when I get older."

Tally nodded understandingly and handed him the basket full of groceries. "Have a nice day!" She said.

Tails waved and replied with the same sentence. He was on his way to his house when he felt it again. His instincts were practically screaming to him that he was being watched or someone was hiding nearby. Tails took note of it and went behind the row of buildings till he entered his through the backdoor.

"Cosmo, I'm home!" He shouted, drawing the adolescent plant girl over to him from the living room. She gave him a tight hug and a peck on the cheek before she noticed his facial expression.

"Tails, what's wrong?" She asked him. Tails felt almost shivery as he shook slightly. His tails drooped on the floor, signifying that he was troubled. It was hard to hide your emotions when you practically wore them on your skin.

"Cosmo, check the thermal again." He advised her, and she immediately knew what the issue was.

She nodded and went off to a nearby computer, followed by her significant other. She pulled up a program that showed the areas around the house in white-hot thermal vision.

Once again, they noticed the clump of white hiding behind bushes a couple meters from their house. "It's still just them." Tails moaned. "Who are these people?"

Cosmo shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. I know it's a group of more than five, but less than ten people, but I can't tell because of the white hot sensor." She speculated.

Tails was not very happy about this. As a matter of fact, he was downright pissed about the whole issue. Some strangers decided that they could spy on him and his beloved. He was going to show them a thing or two.

Meanwhile, outside in the snow, seven figures lie in wait. One of them budged the other and whispered, "Just give up, man." The first one said. "We've been here for…" the figure counted on his fingers for a moment, "… seventeen days and we haven't seen hide or hair of Tails. I think this lead is inaccurate."

The first figure seemed angered slightly. "He WILL come." He whispered in return. "Just you wait."

Ask and you shall receive, though not exactly as you asked for it. This statement is proved once again as Tails walked out of his front door and glared in their general direction. "We've never met…" He began saying. He seemed enraged, so that his energy started leaking out, and they could feel it. "… and you have the _audacity _to spy on me and my girlfriend?" He yelled now, as if he knew they would hear.

He then waved his arms around in a circle like fashion. The figures beneath the bushes became frightened as they attempted to escape, but to no avail. A tunnel of wind blew the brush out of the ground and tore the roots of trees up, revealing the perpetrators. A blue hedgehog poked his head through the snow that had been blown over him and shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Tails' eyes widened as he looked at the figures. He rubbed his eyes to try and clear them up, but the figures still remained. "Sonic? Is that you?"

The blue hedgehog in question perked his head up and peered at the nine-tailed fox that stood before him. A hand was extended forward to help him from his position, which he gladly accepted. After taking one good look at the fox, Sonic was convinced enough to pull him into a brotherly hug.

"Tails! How long had it been, man?" Sonic asked. Tails' face lit up almost instantly.

He nodded as he answered, "It's been nine months Sonic." He then flared his nine tails out to show off.

Sen peeked out of the snow to see him and noticed. "Hey, you've got nine tails now Tails!" She yelled, which the kitsune smiled at.

Sonic let go of his brother for a moment to look around. "Where's Cosmo?"

Tails mouth formed a small _o. _"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." He turned around to face his house and shouted, "Cosmo, get out here! You'll never guess who's been spying on us!"

Sonic remained to be a little embarrassed that his surrogate little brother knew he was being spied upon. He would have to work on his spying skills in the future.

Cosmo came out moments later and stared at the group that stood outside. "Wow! What are you guys doing here?" She questioned of them, while beckoning them to come in.

Soon to be sat on the couches were Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Sen, Shane, Gary, Alexa, Melodi, Sam and Durin. Tails looked at them and rotated his eyes about. "What about everybody else?"

Shane answered that. "They couldn't come, dad. Their protecting Castle Acorn. The war has become quite a problem."

Tails nodded in understanding before wondering… "How did you guys find us?"

The group exchanged glances and Melodi spoke. "St. John handed us a document that he said was from the Black Ops file. We used that to help locate you."

Tails' eyes widened almost immediately. He grumbled and said, "I thought my secrecy was sound." Alexa waved her hand at her neck area, signifying to shut up.

They all perked their ears up to hear what he had to say. "A couple weeks ago, Cosmo and I infiltrated one of Eggman's factories, which was hidden under the alias of being an oil rig in the Shivery Sea. Our mission was to collect valuable blueprints on the robots, and destroy the compound."

Shadow was impressed that his protégé had been handed such an important mission. "So, how did it go?" He asked.

Tails smirked at the thought. "What can I say? We raised hell and completed both objectives with ease.

"General O'Donnell called me on the phone earlier today; said I would be getting another assignment in the mail soon."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Tails walked over and opened it, revealing The Postman. This brown fox was an enigma, only being known as The Postman and has never failed to deliver. He has no fancy vehicles or super speed, but one does question if he can teleport.

"Letter for Mr. Miles Prower." He said, handing him a small rectangular, white envelope. Tails tore the envelope open and unfolded the note.

_Dear Miles "Tails" Prower,_

_Sorry, but I'm Jewish. As revenge: Happy Hanukkah. Your mission objective is in the below. Whatever you do, do NOT show this message to anyone besides Cosmo and Sonic's company. Yeah, I know they're there. I was the one who let John have the document so they could find you and you could complete this mission, sorry._

Tails smirked and chuckled for a moment before continuing.

_**Operation Abstergo**_

_**SitRep: **__We've found that some Mobians are beginning to revolt. They aren't joining Eggman, but they have created their own faction called: __**Abstergo**__, similar to the __**United Mobian Insurrection (UMI)**__ that was put down several months ago.__Peace talk has failed and we need you to infiltrate a base and gather intelligence and, if possible, destroy the compound._

_**Location: **__Golf Uniform. Coordinates: Alpha-19.2, Bravo-20.4, Charlie-0.0_

_**Objective A: **__Infiltrate and gather Intel on this Insurrection. Names, locations, strategies, anything will suffice._

_**Objective B: **__Initiate the EXCIDIUM_**_ protocol. This is an order, not a suggestion._

_**IMPORTANT: Burn this message after documenting all the information.**_

_Yours Truly,_

_General Felix O'Donnell_

Tails finished reading and sighed. "I was afraid this would happen."

Everyone gathered around to read the message and had differed expression. Cosmo, for one, was nervous while the others were contemplating this.

Tails turned toward the computer and was followed by Durin. "What do those words and numbers in the **location **segment mean, Tails?"

Tails was imputing variables into a program while he spoke to him. "Well, Golf Uniform is phonetic code for: G.U. To some, the letters mean nothing, but to someone like me and Cosmo, who have practically memorized the map of Mobius, we know it refers to the Great Unknown; a large and mostly unexplored desert. The Great Unknown does have a map of its own, however, thanks to satellite technology."

Tails pulled up a three dimensional map of the Great Unknown. As he described, it was a vast landscape, and all of it was desert.

Durin nodded in understanding. "Okay, so what's with the Alpha, Bravo, Charlie thingy?" He asked.

Tails then pulled up another box with adjustable options labeled: X, Y, and Z. "Those are just X-Y-Z coordinates. When I insert them, the computer automatically determines the exact location of the base." As is said, a blinking red dot appeared in the 3-D diagram.

After inserting the coordinate, Tails gave the message to Durin and nodded. The black echidna smirked while turning the message into ash.

Sonic was remembering **Objective B **again, wondering what it all was. "Hey, Tails!" He yelled. "What's The EXCIDIUM protocol?"

Tails' previously happy expression drooped. "I'm surprised you've never heard of it.

"It's a protocol that was created soon after the war began." He explained. "Only Cosmo and I have ever been given authorization to enact it, because we're the only ones who _can_."

Melodi had her hand underneath her chin and was narrowing her eyes at him skeptically. "That's not what we asked you." She pointed out. "So what is this protocol?"

Tails sighed deeply and glanced at her. She could see something in that stare. Something telling her that he was concealing something, but she couldn't quite understand it. "You'll see." He assured her, and went off to a nearby wall.

He flipped open a pad and punched in a combination before hitting the enter key. In response, the wall turned around, revealing a hidden armory. Tails retrieved his special sword as well as a bag of ammunition. He then let the others choose as they will.

"Lock and load guys." He advised them. "We have an entire compound to take out."

While Melodi, Alexa, Knuckles, Durin, Sonic, Sen and Sam went with their own means of offense, the others retrieved some weapons of their own.

Shadow picked up an MG4 light machine gun and attached a holographic sight to the heavy gun. He then loaded a one-hundred magazine box and pulled the breach bolt. He strapped that on his back, grabbed a belt for a pistol holster and took a Caracal pistol.

Shane decided he wouldn't need much so he took a holster and a Glock 18 machine pistol, as well as several cases of ammunition.

Gary chose a simple M1014 shotgun with silencer. Tails took a moment talk to Gary. "You're… silencing… a shotgun?" He asked him slowly.

Gary looked at his gun again. "Yeah, I want to keep our operation silent."

Tails shrugged and moved off to prepare more. Sonic, however, was kind of stunned.

He pulled Cosmo aside and had to ask her, "You know, these are real Mobians we have to kill, right?"

She sighed and took his hands off of her shoulder. "Don't remind me." She stated, walking over to comfort Tails.

Sonic, being convinced that something was wrong, decided to follow and talk to Tails. When he got to the separate bedroom, Tails was crying on to Cosmo's shoulder. When he noticed Sonic had walked in, he wiped his eyes, cleared his throat and said. "What is it, Sonic?"

Sonic sat down with Tails on the bed and asked, "Tails, what happened while you were gone?"

The kitsune sighed and sagged his shoulders. "Sonic, there are a couple things you learn when your own city banishes you." He said.

He held up a finger. "One, very few can be trusted."

He continued to count as he went through a list. "Two, self-preservation is the top priority.

"Three, there's always something you can do better.

"And four, morals are just figments that blind one from what has to be done."

Tails then walked out of the room, an inner-conflict raging inside of him. One part of him wanted to explain everything, but the other told him "Not yet."

_Oh well. They'll see. _He thought, as he prepared to leave.

Sonic was still talking with Cosmo, however. "What's wrong with him?" He asked her, being the concerned brother figure of Tails'.

She shook her head. "Let's just say that we've seen enough to last a lifetime." She then took her leave and rejoined the others. Sonic remained confused, but joined them in the living room anyway.

Just outside the room, it was as if Tails had shed his coat of sadness and replaced it with enthusiasm as he began a pep talk. "Alright guys, our mission objective is to obtain intelligence. Remember, these are not our allies." He reminded them. Everyone was just a little uneasy since they were facing other Mobians, but Tails seemed… like he had done this before. "They have defected and you will treat them with no mercy."

"We will infiltrate the base on four fronts. Sonic's team, which consists of Gary, Alexa and Melodi, will be our distraction. You will go to the north side of the base and raise hell. I won't lie to you; I'm sending you into one of the most heavily protected areas of the base. Are you prepared?"

Sonic looked over to his teammates who nodded at him. Sonic then returned a nod to Tails who smiled. "Okay! Shadow, your team, which includes Sam and Sen, will find a way to disable the security for me and Cosmo to infiltrate. We will be securing the data."

Shadow nodded, so Tails turned towards Knuckles and Durin. "You two will be providing back up for Sonic's team. You will sneak around the east side and flank the enemy when they've drawn their attention."

Cosmo stepped forward to say her favorite part of the briefing. "What are the rules of engagement, sir?" She mockingly asked. She knew the parameters, but she loved saying that.

Tails smirked at her and gave the most obvious answer. "Everyone's hostile."

* * *

><p>*Pagus Vulpes is Latin. The literal translation is "Village of Foxes"<p>

**Excidium is also Latin. The literal translation is "Obliteration."


	3. Chapter 3

**his ought to be my longest chapter yet! Please enjoy and Happy New Year!**

* * *

><p>The Great Unknown<p>

December-26-3456

6:25 Mobius Time

Early in the morning, when the sun had not yet risen, guards patrolled around a compound in the middle of nowhere. It was heavily guarded, to say the least, though the northern boundary seemed more protected. Perhaps the area near it housed more important things.

The entire compound was surrounded by a ten meter high wall, and guard were posted along it, each holding an M4A1 assault rifle with no extra customizations. Twenty guards were entering there shift at the north wall currently, grabbing their rifles off the racks and taking a stand on the wall. One chipmunk was standing next to a golden retriever.

The dog nudged the chipmunk, who turned to him in response. "What do you want, Bernard?" He questioned.

The dog supposedly named Bernard motioned toward the chipmunk's rifle. "I think that's _my _rifle you're holding, Steven."

Steven raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about? Every rifle is exactly the same. How could you possibly define this one as _yours?_"

Bernard then looked over the rifle. "Come on man! That's _my _good looking rifle. That's the rifle I sleep with _every _night!"

The chipmunk raised his eyebrow even more, if that was possible, and stared at his companion. "You sleep… with a _rifle?_"

Bernard then blushed, saying something he shouldn't have. His face contorted into a bland expression. "Just give me the rifle."

Steven smirked. "No, I want to hear more about this rifle." He harped. "Do you polish it every day, as well? Maybe you sing it lullabies, too!"

Bernard face palmed before holding out his rifle so they could exchange. With the rifles in their _proper_ place, they took watch over the area once more.

Steven blinked for a second. He could swear he saw something for a second. Just a flash of blue, but it might've been his imagination. _Or it might not have, _he thought, deciding to take a look with his binoculars.

The high-tech binoculars displayed the distance of what he was looking at in the top-left hand corner, and the absolute location of it in the top-right hand corner. He looked around the rocky landscape, but found nothing of actual interest, so he returned the binoculars to the table and just kept an eye out.

There it was again. Just barely a flash of blue, and then it was gone. Now he was getting suspicious. Checking with the binoculars again, he found nothing. The flash of blue kept coming, though and he was sure it wasn't just him. Then suddenly, it paused.

The blue stayed in the middle of the open field. He pulled out a bulky radio and pressed the button. "Baseplate, I'm seeing a possible Tango in the perimeter, stand by, over." He then put the radio back in his pocket.

Using his binoculars he found that it was a blue hedgehog, wearing a black cloak with a fiery red roman numeral IX on the back and was holding some kind of tube. At the front of the tube, there was a football sized object lodged into it. That's when he realized.

"RPG!" He shouted, drawing attention to the blue hedgehog. Said hedgehog just smirked and pulled the trigger.

The rocket propelled grenade flew at the wall, creating a gaping hole. Some of the soldiers were unlucky enough to be either caught in the blast or squashed by debris.

It was the first batch of lives that would be lost tonight.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 3**

**Back on the Grid**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Knuckles and Durin crept along the roof of a building, observing the fight below. True to the plan, the guards had spread themselves thin in other areas to assist the northern frontier. It was uncanny how perfect the plan was going.

_A little to perfect, _Knuckles imagined, but discarded the thought soon after. Now it was their turn. He moved the hood off of his cloak so he could get a better angle.

Knuckles then dived off the building, striking the ground to create a miniature earthquake. The seismic force disbanded a group of foes, allowing Durin to come in with minimal resistance.

Sonic met up with Knuckles, but this time it was different. Instead of the cocky grin that Sonic usually wore, Knuckles was met with a frown. "This isn't like other times, is it Knuckles?" The blue hedgehog asked him.

Knuckles shook his head and glared at the hedgehog. "We may be killing Mobians, but they're a threat to the civilians, Sonic. You need to understand that."

The idea still didn't rest easy with sonic, but he fought anyway. Picking up a dropped M4, he test fired a couple of shots into the enemy. He was rewarded with blood spilling from a tiger in the path of his ammunition.

Sonic's stomach curdled, as he looked at the blood that spewed from the Mobian, even if he was an enemy. He dropped the magazine and loaded a fresh one while thinking a thought. _If you don't kill them, they're going to kill you. _That alone was enough to clear his head as he continued firing from behind cover.

Knuckles sprinted from behind his cover and launched a punch at another soldier's back. The result was that it bent in a way that it shouldn't have, instantly killing him.

There was no blood to announce this death, but there was the sickening crack of his spine. Knuckles raced past the body and met another dog, which he dealt with by snapping a kick to abdomen, causing his ribs to cave in.

Gary was rushing into combat, blasting 20 gauge pellets into a nearby lynx. He questioned why he needed the silencer, seeing as their objective was to go loud and he suddenly realized why Tails asked about it. At that time, it seemed perfectly logical to him, but now it was just stupid. Coming upon this epiphany, he unscrewed the suppressor from the barrel and pocketed it for later use.

He then took out a shell and loaded it through the feed at the bottom, giving the shotgun full ammunition.

Alexa and Melodi were back to back, each using their own method of killing enemies. Melodi would launch her thorn chakrams at the enemy while Alexa had transformed again.

This time her fur was blue, though it looked more like an arctic camouflage. Some parts were darker shades of blue while others were lighter. Her wings became the scaly ones of a dragon, but they were surrounded by water. This was her wind and water combo transformation.

In her hand she gripped her dual Desert Eagle pistols. She fired a single round at the neck of an enemy, revealing the ammunition to be ice-based ballistic needles. She, unlike the others, had means to make a non-bloody kill. When the needle hit the soldier, his nerves and jugular vein were sliced. With no control of his body, he slumped on the ground and lay there as he internally bled to his death.

Durin decided to attack a soldier by burning him. Forming a fireball from nothing, he threw at the targeted bull, whose clothes instantly caught fire. The flame spread to his belt, and eventually to a frag grenade, creating a massive chain of explosions on his body.

Durin shuddered, imagining what it must've felt like. The explosion happened to chain into red barrels, which went alight and exploded almost as quickly. The first wave of soldiers was soon decimated.

But they were only the first to come.

Sonic brought his hand up to his ear and activated the radio channel. "Fire Team Bravo, your avenue is open. Go green, I repeat, go green." He ordered through the channel. He received a grunt in response, signifying that they had affirmed.

A ways away, just outside another building marked "Sierra Charlie", which roughly translated into "Security Control" in phonetic code, Shadow and his team sat, ready to make their move.

After receiving the okay, Shadow nodded to the other two. "Remember, make this quick. No survivors." He told them, and they nodded in response.

He placed a frame charge on the door and put his back against the wall next to it, as the others did in suit. When the charge blew and they rushed in immediately after, everything felt like slow-motion. With the sudden adrenaline rush, Shadow saw the enemy trying recompose themselves and he found this the perfect opportunity.

He pulled out his MG4 and began placing accurate rounds into the enemies' heads, even with the high-recoil weapon. Sam was using his abilities to "head-shock" the enemy, resulting in them having spastic movements before they slumped on the floor, dead.

Sen was grinning as she willed a small plant on the desk to grow vines and attack one of the soldiers. Needless to say, the grey wolf was scared for his life before the vines expertly wrapped around his neck and torqued in an awkward direction.

Shadow smirked at a job well done. "All hostiles neutralized, team." He confirmed. Looking over at the bodies, he was having second thoughts about this mission. Sure, Shadow had his moments where he killed humans and aliens, but he's never killed a Mobian before. From the looks of his compatriots, they weren't too excited about the mutilated bodies around them either.

"I'm not sure you should be congratulating us for this." Sen stated. She then gave a short prayer for the lost souls and bade them goodbye.

Shadow discarded her words and made his way over to a computer. He typed for a while, over ridding the computing sequence and causing the core processors to malfunction, leading to an overall failure in the security system.

Shadow brought his hands up to his ear and activated his Com. "Gold-9, you are clear for extraction. You have the torch. Need I repeat?" He spoke into it.

There was momentary static before he received an answer. "No repeat needed, Bravo Leader. I copy all."

We now move our focus to a separate building on the south side of the compound. A nine tailed fox and a Seedrian, both dressed in the same cloak as the others, were sneaking around the building, searching for a proper entrance.

During their search, they conversed to keep each other's nerves down. "So Cosmo," Tails began, "How about I take you out to dinner when this is all said and done."

Cosmo's eyes lit with glee, as she thought up something else to say. "Sure, Tails, but why are you calling yourself Gold-9?"

Tails perked up the nine tails behind him and Cosmo got the picture. She then frowned and slanted her eyebrows. "Tails, I do not like this mission."

Tails sighed. "Neither do I, Cosmo."

They finally found a door thin enough for a frame charge to be used. Tails backed against a wall and plant the frame charge. Cosmo ducked next to the door as well, waiting for an explosion.

When the door exploded, they rushed in to find no enemies, or the objective computers they would need to extract data from for that matter. In the small room, there was only white echidna. He wore tattered, black military clothing, aside from his grey trench coat.

Tails could've sworn he recognized him. The echidna was covered cuts and appeared to have been burned in some areas. He was tied to a chair and was gaged and blindfolded. When Tails removed the gag and blindfold, the white echidna screamed, "I WON'T TELL! YOU WON'T GET ANY INFORMATION OUT OF ME!"

Tails was taken aback by this, until the echidna opened his eyes. He saw the fox and his nine tails and gasped. He then looked at the face of the fox that stood before him. He peered into Tails' blue eyes, and Tails did likewise into his purple eyes.

"Tails?" The white echidna said, confirming Tails' suspicion.

"Alex?" He almost shouted. "Private First Class Zednanref, what are you doing here?"

Alex was on the verge of tears, and bawled when he heard his name. "They tortured me! For information, no less!"

Tails was shocked by this and decided to untie the ropes that held him in place. Alex then did something he never did. He got off of his seat and kissed Tails feet.

"My God, THANK YOU!" He proclaimed while worshiping Tails. Tails then put out a hand, and Alex grasped, pulling him off the ground.

Alex wiped his tears with his sleeve and looked sternly at Tails. "And that's _Captain _Zednanref to you."

Tails chuckled while looking at the two silver rectangles on his right sleeve. "So you're a captain now? Congratulations!"

"Yeah, I know. Sally gave me the promotion a couple of months ago." He confirmed, before putting on a confused expression. "So what in devil's name are _you _doing here?"

Seeing as he was already here, ails decided to share the classified information. "The General sent me, Cosmo, and a couple of others to acquire information."

Tails then looked around. "I guess it's a good thing I picked the wrong room."

They exited and did a bit more searching before finding what they believed to be the right room. Cosmo took out her Walther PPK-E pistol and handed it to Alex. "You might need this." She told him, at which he nodded.

Finding the right room at last, Tails pulled out another frame charge and blew the fuse, shattering the door into tiny fragments of wood. They pulled in and looked at the unorganized group of enemies.

Alex aimed down the sights of his pistol and downed a couple of soldiers with headshots. Cosmo had opted for a suppressed RSASS sniper and was placing accurate shots in vital areas with the ACOG sight.

Tails was just firing precise bolts of wind energy, tearing through their target with ease. When all was said and done, the room was not short of a bloody mess.

When Tails went geek and began hacking through files, he found an issue. "Well, looks like I finally get a challenge." He said while pulling up several programs.

"A challenge for what, Tails?" Alex questioned while Tails was pulling up several files.

"Well, I haven't had a good hacking challenge in a while." Tails explained. "To access these files, I either need the administrator password, which I don't have, or I need to complete a very complex array of counter measures."

Alex nodded. "Oh, so it's like parental controls."

Tails comically sweat slightly. "You might say that."

He then went into rapidly typing. "See, the easiest answer to something like this is to change the password." He elaborated. "By reconfiguring the administrative directive, I'm wiring it to only respond to my password."

After more typing on the command prompt, Tails was in and downloading file after file. "This system is a gold mine!" He exclaimed. "I have names, locations, sub operations and…"

He trailed off while looking at a specific file. "Oh no!"

Cosmo rushed over to see. "What's the matter, Tails?"

He was staring at the screen, wide eyed. "They actually _are _collaborating with Eggman!" He yelled. This drew the attention of the other two even further.

"So they haven't just become an insurrection, they've completely defected." Alex confirmed.

Tails nodded. After downloading the files, he planted a pack of C4 on every computer. "We need to eliminate these files for good." He stated while pushing them out the door.

Once they were out, he pulled out the detonator and clicked the switch. A massive explosion occurred in the room and everything within it was turned to scrap or ashes.

Tails then put his hand to his ear and activated a radio. "Overlord, we have secured the files and are proceeding to objective B. We also found a soldier; Captain Zednanref. I think he's in your **Missing in Action** bulletin."

There was a short pause before he received an answer. "Copy, Gold-9. Proceed with the EXCIDIUM protocol."

Tails paused for a moment and winced. "Yes sir." He finally answered before heading off with the others. He felt slightly downcast about the protocol. Its orders were a directive in counter-measures to all insurrections. It was meant to discourage other insurrections from forming, and to discourage others from joining these insurrections.

Cosmo sensed his discomfort and drifted over to him. "I know, Tails. I know you don't want to do this, but we have our orders."

Tails sat down and propped himself against a wall. He scoffed. "Orders. Bah, what kind of order is this?"

Cosmo sat next to him. She rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him. "Then don't think of it as an order. Think of it as a duty to protect others from this insurrection."

Tails then looked over into Cosmo's ocean blue eyes and smiled. "What would I ever do without you?"

He hugged her and stood back up, prepared for what was ahead. Alex, however, was wondering.

"What's the EXCIDIUM protocol?" he asked. Cosmo turned around to face him.

Tails shook his head, and Cosmo nodded. "You'll see when the time comes."

Meanwhile, back on the northern side of the base, Sonic and Knuckles' squads were experiencing momentary down time. There were others still in the base, but seeing as they advanced no further, they were considered a distraction and left for the time being.

"Where do you think they are?" Knuckles asked Sonic, though he was still on guard, prepared for an imminent attack.

Sonic's eyes would twitch in another direction every now and then, checking for any sign that the enemy could spring an ambush or sneak attack. "I don't know Knuckles, but they could be here any moment, so keep your guard up."

Durin sighed. "You two are so high strung." He pointed out. "Lighten up a little."

Shane nodded. "Yeah, even I have to agree with him on that one." Following Durin's advice, he grabbed a piece of debris and sat down, propping his back up against it. "If they were going to attack, they'd have done it already."

Sonic paused his sporadic searching and shrugged. Deciding it wasn't much to bother about, he kicked back and relaxed.

What a foolish decision.

Mere minutes after their decision, they were ambushed. Shane was shot in the leg a couple times before he dove for cover. A dose of lead was shared among all of them, as they received bullet wounds here and there.

By the time the action had toned down, Shane and Knuckles were incapable of standing while the others were bleeding, but not immobile. They continued firing with what ammunition they could salvage.

"Hold still, Shane. I got you." Alexa said while transforming again. She had flimsy wings that looked like they could've been fish fins. She was also holding a staff encrusted with a blue crystal.

Water was flowing out of the staff and into his leg, healing the bullet wounds. Shane thanked her before grabbing his Glock 18 and firing it off into the crowd of enemies. A couple hit here and there, but only wounds were made. He then ducked back behind cover, dropped the thin magazine and loaded a new cartridge.

Sonic was dashing in and out of cover, firing bullets along the way. He dived behind cover where Knuckles was and smirked at the echidna who was clutching his own leg. "I guess it's a little too late for witty banter." Sonic said, and Knuckles fumed.

"Well, no dip." Knuckles declared. "I think you've earned a promotion from Captain Obvious to Major Moron."

Sonic smirked. "Yeah, yeah. I hate you too, Knux."

Knuckles noticed a lion attempting to sneak up on Sonic so the red echidna did the only viable thing. "Sonic, duck!"

Sonic swished his head around. "Duck? Where?" He questioned. Knuckles face palmed before tugging Sonic's leg down, effectively tripping him. He also withdrew a knife from his belt and threw it at the lion, embedding it in his heart. The lion clutched at his chest for a moment before falling over.

"Not the bird, you ignoramus! The action!" Knuckles scolded him. Sonic just shrugged sheepishly.

Alexa came over to their wall and chuckled. "Never a dull moment with you two, is there?" She asked mockingly. They both chuckled in embarrassment.

Alexa was healing Knuckles' wounds when a small object landed near them. They stood up and looked at it. "Hey, Sonic, I think you dropped your grenade." Knuckles suggested, while Sonic shrugged.

"Hey, I'm not carrying any grenades." Sonic covered for himself. He then looked at Knuckles. "Why don't you count yours?"

Knuckles felt around his belt for the grenade slots; all of which were occupied. "None of mine are used."

Alexa then threw her hands up. "Well _someone _must've dropped it."

A momentary silence ensued as they attempted to figure out whose grenade it was. Sonic's eyes grew wide. "Oh snap… I think someone threw a grenade at us." He said.

This caused Knuckles to contort his mouth into a small circle. "Yeah, you think we'd have figured that out earlier."

Alexa, who was just about scared out of her mind, picked the grenade up and slung it across the battle field, letting it explode in a group of enemies. "What kind of imbeciles are we?" She shouted while Knuckles and Sonic sweated comically.

The enemy was overrunning them, and they had to regroup under cover. If it weren't for the fact that Tails, Cosmo, Shadow, Sam and Sen arrived just then, they might've been finished. Tails was creating a continuous stream of wind, preventing the enemy from advancing or firing accurate shots.

"GO!" He shouted. "I'll hold them off!"

They didn't need to be told twice as they made haste for the hole that Sonic had recently blown in the wall. Cosmo stayed a little while longer while Tails talked to her.

"Cosmo, when you find my body, I'm going to need you to heal me up, okay?" He asked of her, to which she only gave a nod.

After they had escaped, Tails flew into the air and began floating rather than flying. He crossed his arms over his face in an "X" formation and began focusing. The soldiers attempted to fire at him, but their shots were horrible in accuracy at Tails' elevation.

With enough thought and focus, Tails came to finally unlock seven of the eight inhibitors, becoming what he would call, "Solar Wind Tails."

His fur color was now a dark blue rather than its normal bright yellow. His body, instead of being surrounded by his perky aura, was now surrounded by a white mist.

Tails put his hands together… and began praying. "Dear God, I am sorry for what I have done and what I am about to do. Pray that these souls may have forgiveness when they enter into your Kingdom."

He then brought his hands skyward and concentrating his energy. He glared down at the enemy and let out a fierce battle cry. "ZEPHYR SUN BEAM!" He shouted and threw down the ball of energy.

Sonica and the others watched as the ball of white energy flew down into the compound. It shined with an intensely bright before erupting into a devastating beam of energy. The column of white energy was blinding to look at and it lasted for several seconds.

When the beam died down, there was nothing left of the compound, for it had been turned entirely to ash. They gazed in awe at what Tails had done while Cosmo rushed into the field of ash. When she arrived there, Tails was lying atop one of the mounds of ash. Everything was incinerated so thoroughly, you couldn't tell a cinder block from a Mobian skull.

Everyone else came in after to see Cosmo tending to Tails' many wounds. Cosmo was almost in tears when she saw his body; covered in tears and burns. On the inside, his muscles had been strained and torn beyond capacity. Healing this would take a lot of time and effort, so Shadow did the only smart thing to do. He grabbed Tails' body and pulled out his green chaos emerald.

Huddling the group close together, he spoke the words, "Chaos Control," and teleported them to a safer place.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey again! Just some news for you, since school is beginning to pick up again, I will have less time to write and/or upload, so please be patient with me. **

_**Sonic: Come on! Patience are for hospitals!**_

__**Pat yourself on the back if you know where that one came from.**

* * *

><p>December-26-3456<p>

12:10 Mobius Time

Dark and dank were the halls of the corridor in this complex. The lights were dimmed to preserve power, giving the appearance that this place had long since been abandoned. That was, however, not the case, as a black vixen walked down the steel hallway, her feet creating a clatter with every step.

She was dressed in black military attire, giving the appearance that she was some kind of assassin. That was one of her services, but she was not on a job now. She was relaxing. You might say she had some down time. In reality, she was just wasting away the hours, waiting for her next assignment. The old fool had always gone on and on about keeping quiet until the necessary time to reveal themselves, and that they shouldn't risk the possibility of revealing their position.

She huffed and glared at nothing in particular. _Why go through all the trouble if they know who we are?_ She thought as she walked into a room in the complex. It was complete with a bed, desk, closet, mirror and washroom. That wasn't to say it was in the nicest of conditions.

No, this room hadn't been cleaned since nine months ago. The only thing that she kept even remotely clean was a large photograph that hung on the wall of her messy room. She noticed a new layer of dust had settled on the photo and frame, so she took an old rag and wiped it off.

The picture was of her and her best friend, partying to their hearts content. There was no one else in the picture, as they had been by themselves for most of their lives, living off what ever came there way. That is, until they were called for duty by their boss.

She looked at the female figure next to her in the photo. She was a brown, teenage mouse, wearing an open black jacket and a grey undershirt, along with jeans, from which her tiny mouse tail protruded. The operative word in that sentence being _was_.

She barred her fangs and growled for a moment. How could she have been so foolish, thinking that doing this assignment would be fun? In just one mission, she had lost her dignity, her self-confidence, she was surely losing her sanity, and she lost the most important thing of all.

"I will make you pay for what you did, Miles Prower." She swore under her breath, clenching her fist all the while.

She then let loose an ear piercing scream, attempting to relieve her anguish.

On the floor above, a bald man could hear the sound of pain that was emitted from his ally. He breathed a sigh and muttered, "Such a shame," before continuing his work.

A robot of humanoid height with a vertically elongated head came up behind him. "Would you like your sandwich, Doctor Eggman?" It asked.

The old man in the chair turned from the contrasting light to reveal that he wore a red over coat with a black sweater underneath, and black, sophisticated pants. His bushy, orange mustache was wider than his head and his torso was certainly much wider, to say the least.

"Thank you Decoe, I will have it." He answered, retrieving the Reuben sandwich from the robot. He checked to make sure it was all there. True to its nature, the sandwich contained sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Thousand Isle dressing, and pastrami, all on a pumpernickel loaf.

He took a bite out of the sandwich, chewed, swallowed and looked at the sandwich. After analyzing it, he took another bite. While he didn't express his thanks, Decoe's artificial intelligence told him that the second bite meant he liked it and he took it as his cue to leave the room.

Eggman was observing a video feed from his Sky Eye Echo satellite that was orbiting over the Great Unknown. He had been watching this particular feed for a couple hours or so, as the events that took place were quite astonishing.

From the Sky Eye, he could tell that Sonic and his friends had invaded the base, but he hadn't a clue on what purpose. Whatever it was, they were currently retreating from the base. However, one figure was left. He used the optical zoom in to find none other than Tails, sending forth a wave of energy.

"What's he up to?" The bulbous scientist muttered while pulling up a screen that measured chaos energy. The energy level was far spread, but weak. He laughed that even the fox might not make it out of this.

All of a sudden, the energy stopped. He widened his eyes when energy was beginning to build and concentrate on the fox. He had built his scanner to measure amounts of chaos energy to the extreme, and Tails was pushing this. The color was now a vibrant red, indicating extremely dangerous amounts of energy. He figured that not even five people in powered by the chaos emeralds could amount this sort of energy, and he was doing so without any emeralds.

He looked at the soldiers on the ground that were staring at the entity of energy above them. All of a sudden, the camera on the energy radar zoomed out and a column of yellow shot out of the ground. He stared at this mass of energy until it died down.

When the beacon fizzled out, he looked for the Abstergo base, only to find a field of ash in its place.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 4**

**Ash to Ash**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

The Great Unknown

December-26-3456

12:32 Mobius Time

Tails was laid out on the hot sand of the boundless desert. Even in the winter, the desert gave no relent from its searing heat. Cosmo knew that if Tails wasn't standing in about two hours, the sand would be too hot to lie on, and someone would have to carry him. He wasn't coming around any time soon, that was for sure.

His injuries were interior, rather than exterior. It took an experienced medic, such as Cosmo, to tell the severity of these damages. The damage was mainly intense muscle strain. Some of it was torn, while other muscle was ripped. Other damages were extreme exhaustion, probably from the use of all that energy, and minute bone fractures, perhaps even a concussion if he was unlucky. Based on this, she assumed that Tails could very well be out of it for a few days.

Everyone was still in awe at what took place. The mass destruction, the mass murder… every single detail had been engraved in their minds. Sonic walked over to Cosmo, who was still kneeling in the sand next to her beloved. He looked at the comatose kitsune that lay in the sand, and then at the girl doing her best to heal him.

"Why?" He muttered sadly. Cosmo perked up her ears and looked at Sonic. She sighed and went on.

"It had to be done." She explained. "Peace talk had failed, so now we have to eliminate them, especially since their working with Eggman."

Sonic looked at the field of ash that lay a couple meters from them and then glanced back to the two. "Yeah, but why did we need to kill them all?"

"Because protocol dictated it."

Sonic quickly turned his head to the side and looked at his Tails, who had opened his eyes weakly and reappeared in the land of the living. Sonic glared at his surrogate brother for a moment.

"Tails, what _really_ happened while you were gone?" He asked. Tails' ears flattened in response.

Cosmo looked at Sonic for a while. "Sonic, he doesn't need this. He's to injured right now and…"

"Don't give me that!" He shouted at her, causing her to jump. "What happened in a period of nine months that has completely changed him?"

Tails glared at Sonic for a while attempting to stand. Failing in pain, yes, but attempting. "Don't shout at her, Sonic. I can explain."

Cosmo rushed over to him and laid her hands on his chest. "Tails, you need your rest. You haven't properly healed and..."

"No, Cosmo." Tails interrupted her. "He has to hear this."

Sonic breathed a sigh and relaxed. By this time, the others had heard the argument and had formed a semi-circle about the crippled kitsune.

Tails nodded at Cosmo and said, "It started about three months after we were banished…"

**[FLASH-BACK]**

Damnati* Village

June-20-3456

8:48 Mobius Time

**Before we came to Pagus Vulpes, we lived in Damnati Village.**

A small community existed just outside of the Great Forest. It had a lively community, wonderful plaza and beautiful scenery, as it sat on the edge of a cliff. People walk in and out of the traditionally styled market to by the goods they would need for dinner, parties, or even just for daily use, but the market always seemed to bustling in the day.

**These people, as I learned, agreed with the Parliament's decision on banishing me, so we had to stay hidden often.**

A woman walked into the market place. All of her features were blocked by the large cloak she wore. It was emblazoned with the Roman numeral IX in a fiery fashion with nine wavy lines extending from the symbol. Many of the people would notice her throughout the day. She would walk into a market, buy what she needed, and walk out, without ever saying a word.

She was a complete mystery, and nobody knew where she went. It always seemed like she would disappear when nobody was looking.

**We got used to our "on the run" life style and even began to enjoy the thrill… but it wasn't meant to last.**

People screamed and shouted as they ran from the beings who had entered. Those that had entered the town wore green military clothing and they all held HK33 assault rifles. They rampaged in, shooting every living being in sight, without mercy, without forgiveness.

Tails and Cosmo, wearing their cloaks, only arrived in time to see them flee the burning village. Mobians were everywhere, mutilated beyond recognition. One rabbit was desperately crawling to Cosmo and Tails. "PLEASE, HELP!" She shouted, notifying them of her presence.

Tails and Cosmo knelt next to her as Cosmo attempted to heal her. She was bloodied up with bullet wounds in her chest. Cosmo gave Tails a downcast look, telling him it was hopeless.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do." He muttered to her as kindly as he could.

She gave him a shocked expression. One that held pain and suffering. "No… are you sure?" She whimpered. She began to cry softly while Tails looked at her frail body.

She looked around at their faces, trying to burn their image into her memory so that she may remember them in the next world. It was then that she noticed Tails' tails.

She gasped and Tails looked over to her. She was breathing heavily and staring at his namesakes. "Is it really you?" She asked him, remaining to stare at his tails.

Tails nodded, not seeing a reason to deny her. Her eyes almost visibly lit up. "I see…" She weakly muttered.

She then raised her hand and placed it on Tails' shoulder. "Thank you…" She whispered before her hand fell limp; dead.

**I had to watch her die! I had to tell her there was no hope! It was heartbreaking for the both of us.**

Tails sobbed by the poor woman's body while Cosmo patted his back, on the verge of tears, herself. When they felt able to go on, Tails stood back up and they rushed out into the fields.

But not before burying the young woman's body.

**A couple days later, we received a mission from G.U.N. to destroy the United Mobian Insurrection's home base. We took it without question. This was the first use of the EXCIDIUM protocol. It was the first time I had ever used the Zephyr Sun Beam.**

**[END FLASH-BACK]**

"That is but a fragment of the past that Cosmo and I experienced." Tails concluded. He limped over to where Cosmo stood and gave her a hug. "Sometimes, I wonder if I could even make it through without her company."

Cosmo visibly blushed as the others contemplated what Tails had just told them. With all said and done, Shadow took his green chaos emerald in hand and they warped away in a strobe of light.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Angel Island

December-31-3456

19:29 Mobius Time

It was a couple days after _**Operation Abstergo **_and Knuckles sat by the Master Emerald, at peace. To him, everything was right in the world at that moment in time. He was relaxing by the Master Emerald at sun down, looking up at the sky in the blank way that he did while relaxing. A butterfly landed on his nose for a short time, at which he moved his head and glanced at the insect before it flew away from its perch of flesh.

Standing still, making rational decisions; it seemed to him that those were some things that he could do better than Sonic. His judgment was impaired, yes, and it struck a blow to his pride every time someone used it to their advantage. However, he could still make a rational decision, and his judgment was improving. He thusly remained, relaxing in a way for a period of time that would have driven the blue speed demon to tears.

He remained still while a cloud floated overhead. It took the shape of a fox at one time, but soon it dissipated, leaving a wispy, random cloud in its place. _It's probably a Cumulonimbus, _He thought as the sky darkened. He was, therefore, unsurprised by the rain that came not minutes after.

"What are you doing out in the rain, Knuckles?" A feminine voice asked him. Lying to his right was a pink echidna with a metallic braid hidden among her spines.

Knuckles sighed as the fresh water pattered against his face, giving off a slight glow. The Master Emerald was also coated in a layer of liquid as the runoff flowed down the steps of the shrine. "I could ask the same of you…Julie-Su." He replied.

The rain that fell was cold, but the two echidnae held their stay in front of the big green gem. It was their duty to protect the powerful relic, through rain, snow, sleet, hail, and anything else that might come their way. It was a tradition held by the Angel Island echidnae for centuries.

Knuckles walked up to the immense emerald and put his wet, gloved hand on it. It was a quality of the Master Emerald that gave a warm feeling to the one who touched it. In a sense, it was more of a living being than a powerful rock.

"Do you think this war will ever end, Knuckles?" Julie-Su asked, causing Knuckles to turn around.

He shook his head. "Only time will tell." He answered before returning to his restful position on his back.

"Hey, Knuckles!" A voice shouted in the distance. Knuckles perked his ears up at the sound of the voice.

Tails and Cosmo had been staying at his hut for a while, since they were _vacationing _from Pagus Vulpes. The yellow kit in question flew slowly to the top of the shrine and looked worriedly at the echidna.

The kit sighed. "You're speaking to her again, aren't you?" He wondered, while Knuckles frowned.

The red echidna turned his head to the side to find that Julie-Su was no longer there. She had, seemingly, disappeared in entirety. Knuckles stood up and walked over to Tails silently.

"…Knuckles?" Tails spoke, wondering if he had even heard him.

The echidna then pulled Tails into a hug and broke down. Rather than wet with water, his face was soaked in tears as he cried on Tails' shoulder. Tails could only return the gesture, hugging him back to show him that he was there for him.

Knuckles wept for a minutes on end, it seemed. When he regained his ability to speak and hold a straight face, he looked at the vulpine that stood before him.

"How did you do it?" He questioned of the kitsune while looking into his eyes. "How did you bear four years of this pain?"

Tails looked solemnly at the saddened echidna and frowned. "Just keep on living, Knuckles." He summarized. "She died so none of us would have to."

Knuckles appeared unsatisfied until Tails continued. "I thought this very thing about the day Cosmo died. I thought that it could've been any of us_. _For years, what kept me going was the thought that her sacrifice would be in vain if I just threw myself away."

Knuckles smiled a little at this and went back to his post in front of the Master Emerald. Rather, he was, until tails grabbed his shoulder. "You go inside and take a break, Knuckles." Tails told him. "I'll take point for a while."

Knuckles smiled at his guest and gladly walked down the steps of the shrine and to his hut. It was a small house, having a bedroom, guest bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom.

Cosmo was inside, preparing a large bowl of salsa. With Knuckles' home grown herbs, it was a cinch. She probably could've made more, but she didn't want to use _all _of Knuckles' veggies, so she stuck with _one_ large bowl instead.

She spotted the drenched echidna and smirked. "Well, look what the storm washed up." She commented before running to the bathroom and throwing him a towel.

He exchanged a smirk with her before rubbing himself down with the towel. When he was high and dry, he walked over to the table that supported the bowl of salsa. He took a tortilla chip from a separate bowl and dipped it in the salsa. After collecting a small mound on the chip, he stuffed the chip into his mouth and widened his eyes. He quickly swallowed and began to pant profusely. His eyes were watering as he quickly breathed in and out.

His eyes darted around the room, searching for a source of water. He noticed the faucet on the counter and made a mad dash for it. Taking a glass, he turned the faucet on and filled it to the brim. He then proceeded to chug the water down in a few quick gulps in an attempt to rid himself of the spiciness.

It worked after about his third glass of ice water, and he was still sweating then. Cosmo came back into the room after using the restroom and looked at the echidna.

"Be careful, the salsa's a bit spicy." She advised him, to which he face palmed.

"You're a little late for that, Cosmo." He admitted while she fought her fits of giggles.

The rain appeared to be passing over. It simmered down to a light shower before moving on completely. Knuckles took this opportunity to exchange positions with Tails again. He walked up the wet steps of the shrine and arrived at the top, seeing the fox stare at the beauty that was the Master Emeralds.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Tails asked him. "You know, that such a beautiful piece of stone can hold such great power."

Knuckles nodded. "It is, indeed."

Tails brushed his hand along the surface of the green, shimmering jewel and found some kind of solace in it. It was as if it was taking away all of his worries. He could feel the energy that flowed through it.

"What is chaos, Knuckles?" Tails asked, introducing a thought that the echidna never really had before.

Knuckles thought for a moment before opening his eyes again. "Chaos is that which binds us, yet that which pushes us apart, Tails." He answered deeply. "It is there when you really need it, and there when we'd rather it not be. It is both good and bad, yet neither at the same time. It is the essence of what we do, stripped away from who we are. It judges on actions rather than character."

Tails stared at the echidna for a while before smirking. "So, how long did it take you to come up with that analogy?"

Knuckles smirked as well. He then looked at the wrist-watch he had, which also acted as a communicator on need. He looked at the time and answered, "About 10.29 seconds. Why?"

Tails' eyes almost visibly bulged. The sun was now under the horizon, leaving only the few minutes of twilight before it ultimately became night.

"Knuckles, it's about time we get some sleep." Tails suggested. Before Knuckles could retort, Tails said, "and don't worry. I can just set up the security system."

Knuckles closed his mouth immediately after and went with Tails to the hut where he could enjoy a peaceful rest.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Amy's house

December-31-3456

21:20 Mobius Time

The normally restless blue hedgehog was even more restless than normal as he tossed and turned in the bed. Amy, having been subsequently woken by said hedgehog, tapped him on the shoulder. "Sonic, are you okay?" She questioned as the supersonic speedster turned around to face her. The expression on his face showed her that he was troubled.

"I don't know, Amy." Sonic confessed. "What Tails did must've done something to me."

Amy looked skeptically at her conflicted husband. "I think the word you're looking for is shocked, surprised, or traumatized."

Sonic nodded. "I think that's it. I just didn't think he was capable of such mass destruction. Nor did I think he would actually do it."

Amy sighed and shook her head. "I know, Sonic." She assured him. "You have to understand what he's been through, though."

Sonic nodded ever more slowly. "I guess." He concluded. "Still, a couple months ago, Tails wouldn't even let blood touch his hands; he was so terrified of death. Now he treats it like a common occurrence."

Amy sighed once more. "You have to realize, Sonic, that in this world of war, death is as common as the cold."

Sonic widened his eyes for just a moment and came to a conclusion. "Tails is going to have some explaining to do."

* * *

><p>*Damnati is Latin. Its literal translation is "Condemned."<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Here's a change of pace for the story. You'll know it when you read it. So why are you reading this?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that is not claimed by me; i.e. my and this plot.**

* * *

><p>January-1-3457<p>

4:20 Mobius Time

The world as you knew it… is gone. How far would you try to go to bring it back? When life pushes and pulls you in directions in such a tedious manor, you begin to wonder how your life was before this point, or how you even got there in the first place.

That's what Sonic thought when he found himself in a black, weightless void. He floated around in the endless vacuum like a helium balloon. Feeling a sense of vertigo, he tried to pinpoint his direction.

Suddenly, he dropped. He fell only a short distance, but that was enough to cause him a bit of pain. After he regained his composure, the surrounding environment began to fizzle into reality. From where he lay, the environment pieced itself together, as if it were fragmented.

He walked around the foggy area, trying to determine where he was, but failing. He then spotted a mass of people. Most of them were praying while others were hoisting Holy objects in front of them.

They all seemed to be focused around a single point, for some reason. Sonic was going to squeeze through the crowd when he found that he could pass right through them, as if he were a ghost.

At the epicenter of the crowd was a nine-tailed fox, curled up into a ball and in tears. One he immediately recognized to be Tails. Though he couldn't hear the people, he could see that they were berating him with harsh words.

He managed to read one of the person's lips, noting that they called him a demon. One other Mobian ferret called him devil-spawn.

_How could they be doing this to him? _Sonic thought as he watched the kitsune stand. Suddenly, Tails' face contorted, showing his great displeasure.

The people noticed and they began to back off. Tails' then grinned in a creepy fashion, one that would make you think he should be in a mental facility.

What he was about to do mad him certifiably insane.

He unleashed a massive amount of energy, cackling all the while. The wave of energy caught the people off guard, as they were blown back by it. Tails kept his expression as his eyes turned blood-red. His fur turned a night black. This time, though, there was an added transformation. The tips of his tails each lit up. They each glowed with an indigo colored fire and the inside of his ears became a pale white. All this, added to the smirk he still wore, and you had a very unhappy fox.

One who looked like he should've been in an insane asylum.

Well, everyone there was definitely going to need a psychiatrist after this. If they lived, that is.

Tails was firing off massive waves of energy, tearing through the Mobians in his rage.

Sonic was scared of him. He'd never pick his little bro out as one capable of mass murder. Tails spotted him and began walking toward him. Sonic's obvious response was to back off. The enraged kitsune had charged up a black energy sphere and was heading straight for him. Sonic tried to cry out to him, but he seemed to have become mute.

Tails plunged the sphere into him and everything vanished.

He was now in a white void. He didn't feel the pain of the sphere and in front of him stood an orange echidna wearing tribal clothing.

She turned to face him and frowned. "You are Sonic, are you not?" She asked him, to which Sonic weakly nodded. "I am Tikal. I am a being that is sealed with Chaos inside the Master Emerald." The echidna introduced herself.

"I see you are troubled." She stated. Sonic, of course, nodded. How could one not be troubled by that horrifying scene?

Tikal then looked down at her feet. Sonic followed suit and saw the massacre continuing, minus himself.

"This is one of Miles' possible futures." She explained. "The people never understood him, and drove him to the point of insanity."

She then faced him. "In order to prevent this, you must convince others to believe him."

Sonic raised his eyebrows. "But, how, Tikal?" He almost screamed at her.

She smirked and winked. "That's for you to figure out."

The scene disappeared, being replaced by the void again…

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 5**

**Sweet Dreams**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Sonic immediately sat up in his bed and swished his head around, attempting to get a better look at his surroundings. He was in Amy's house, particularly in their bedroom. He looked at the alarm clock that was on the night stand next to him, noting that it read 6:34.

_Hooray… a brand new year. _He thought unenthusiastically. Last night's dream had really bugged him. _Was it real?_

He'd have to ask himself that again after he had truly woken up. To his left was Amy, already sitting up and arching her back to stretch it out. She yawned loudly and looked towards her husband. "Good morning, Sonic. Did you have a good rest?"

He responded to his wife with the shaking of his head. "I had a really weird dream last night."

Amy nodded. "So did I. What was yours about?" She asked him.

He proceeded to describe his dream, down to every last detail. Amy clenched her stomach in nausea at the scene he described.

"… then, some orange echidna called Tikal tells me that it was one of Tails' possible futures." He finished. Amy gasped slightly at the mention of the orange echidna. Sonic then narrowed his eyes at her.

"She told me that in a dream, too." The pink hedgehog admitted. "However, my dream was less… gory." She then began to describe the vision that had visited her mind…

**[FLASHBACK]**

January-1-3457

4:19 Mobius Time

Looking around the endless white void, Amy walked onward. It was new to her, to dream of nothing.

She once heard that time has no meaning in a dream. _I wonder if time is passing faster or slower on the outside, _she thought as she continued to venture the vast fields of white.

Without a moment's notice, things began to piece together as if they were part of a jig-saw puzzle. When all was completed, she ended up on a small hill of grass. She could see far and wide on the hill, noting that she was in some kind of park in the middle of the wrecked Mobotropolis. Rain pattered against her face lightly as she took in her surroundings.

While looking around, she spotted an area full of head stones. She looked at the graveyard, wondering why this particular place stood out in her mind. Deciding to disregard it, she simply strode down the hill and over to the forebodingly appearing cemetery.

What she saw when she got there made her shudder for a moment. A nine-tailed yellow fox and a green plant-like alien were kneeling next to a large statue. The statue was made of marble and was carved to form an elegant looking, large stone box.

There was a plaque nailed to side of the stone and several names were inscribed in it.

Among the names, she immediately recognized her own and Sonic's. At the top of the list, she spotted Julie-Su. It was then that she realized what this was.

It was a memorial.

Cosmo laid a bouquet of carnations and roses next to the memorial and clasped his hands together. "Hey guys, we're back." She spoke softly, but loud enough to hear. "We got revenge, just like we promised."

Tails put down a set of golden rings, just wide enough to be wrist bands. He pounded his fist against the ground. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been there for you guys." He apologized. "I couldn't save you. I let you down Shadow, I'm so sorry."

He continued his apologies through his tears. Cosmo wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him in a warm hug. Tails' ears then perked up and he turned quickly, as if by reaction. The direction he turned towards showed many people gather on the hill Amy had recently stood on.

They had formed a mob, chanting a single phrase. They all constantly chanted, **"Vade te malignus spiritus!*" **

Sally, who had been on the other side of the stone, came around and said, "At least you're free now."

Tails scoffed. "Free from what; the Law? What about the people's opinion? We'll never be free from that."

Tails then looked back at the angry mob and shook his head. "Let's go, Cosmo." He muttered just loud enough for Amy to hear before the kitsune and his girlfriend vanished in a blip of light.

Amy suddenly felt her environment slip away as everything turned white.

In front of her now stood an orange echidna. She wore an expression of sadness as she gazed at something down below her. "Hello, I'm Tikal." She introduced.

Amy was about to introduce herself when Tikal put up a hand. "Don't worry; I already know who you are, Amy." She assured her. She then returned to gazing at the floor. Amy followed along and saw Tails carrying Cosmo, flying at Mach 4 away from Mobotropolis.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Tikal suddenly said. "This is one of Miles' possible futures.

"If you want my advice, I suggest you all stay alive… at least until the war ends." She explained further.

Amy was confused by this. "Why would the people hate him for that?"

Tikal then gave her a serious. "They accuse him of leaving you all behind, which, of course, is not the truth."

Amy nodded and Tikal let out a bit of a chuckle. "Or is it?" The scene then vanished before her eyes.

**[END FLASHBACK]**

"… and that's all I can remember." Amy finished, leaving Sonic in a skeptical state of mind.

He looked up at the ceiling and asked, "What do you think she meant when she said it could be the truth?"

Amy shook her head and held her husband's hand. "I don't know, Sonic, but I don't think Tails would ever betray us."

The blue speed devil then sighed, returning to his aimless gazing. _He wouldn't… would he?_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

January-1-3457

6:53 Mobius Time

_What is this place? How did I get here? _These are the things that swam through Tails' mind as he walked around in the seemingly endless white void. Having wandered around in the empty space for what seemed like hours, he finally found a being.

It was in the form of a levitating silver fox, who was positively sparkling. Tails wandered closer to the fox when she suddenly noticed his presence.

When Tails got closer to the fox, he realized her most amazing feature. While a large fox indeed, she possessed an incredible amount of tails! He guessed that maybe she possessed a thousand tails!

"Hello, little one. Welcome to my domain." The enormous kitsune bellowed. Tails sensed something about her, something that made her much more than a thousand-tailed kitsune. A deity perhaps?

Either way, he got down on one knee and bowed his head. She chuckled at this and said, "Fear not, Miles. I merely wish to talk."

With that being said, Tails stood and looked at her. "Um… might I ask who you are?" He wondered, to which she nodded.

"I am The Lady." She introduced herself. "And, by technicality, I am your mother."

Tails widened his eyes and took a step back keeping his gaze focused on her all the while. "Is this some kind of joke?" He questioned, thinking that it was impossible.

The Lady shook her head. "Not at all. All will become clear in due time. But for now, I believe that it is only fair that I finally give you this." She then held her hand out.

Tails flew up to her hand to find a small white ball. It didn't appear special in any way, but he picked it up nonetheless. Upon touch, he realized that the ball had a warm feeling.

"You are just learning your true potential, Miles." The Lady explained. "Keep your friends close, because you are more than you realize."

The Lady then vanished and the surrounding white blacked out. Tails wondered what she meant before he felt a pulling feeling and blacked out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Tails slowly opened his eye lids and looked around. He was still in his room at Knuckles' house. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and groggily looked around. Cosmo was already sitting up on the bed and looking at Tails with an awkward expression on her face.

"What's the problem, Cosmo?" Tails asked. She remained silent as she pointed at his hand.

He looked down to see the small white ball in his hand, still supplying the strange, yet comforting, warmth. He tossed it up and it fell down, just like any normal ball. Still, it seemed to draw his attention more than any other ball.

"What, this ball? I got it in a dream." He told her, to which she raised an eyebrow.

"You got it… from a dream?"

Tails palmed his face for trying to explain it like that. "Never mind." He dismissed and hopped off the bed. He stopped in his tracks for a moment, realizing that he had been unconsciously holding the ball. He secured it into his tail fur and stepped out, into the small living room.

While small, it was certainly large enough to fit three people comfortably with its sofa and TV. Knuckles was already in the kitchen, frying up some eggs and toasting toast. They greeted one another before Knuckles realized that breakfast was done.

He served everything up on plates and brought them to the table. "Here it is everybody!" He announced. "Fried huevos con toast."

Tails sported a mischievous grin and looked at Knuckles. "You can't say _toast _in Spanish?"

Knuckles grinned back and shook his head. "Nor can I say _fried_."

Spanish or no, they ate the breakfast without question. All the while, Tails felt this odd urge. Once he finished his breakfast, rather quickly at that, he stood up and tried to figure out what it was. He reached into his tail out of instinct and pulled out the white ball. Giving it a once over, he tossed it around and found it rather soothing.

He continued to toss around the ball until Cosmo flicked his ear. He instantly regained his awareness and stopped tossing the ball. "Yes, Cosmo?"

She sighed and looked at him again. "Tails, are you alright? You've been tossing that weird ball for a while now."

He shrugged and looked at the ball in his hand again. "The Lady gave it to me."

Cosmo looked at him again. "The who?"

Tails took his eyes off the ball and looked at her. "The Lady. She came to me in a dream and gave this to me."

Knuckles, having overheard the conversation, piped in. "You know, I heard a lot of lore in my childhood."

Having heard him, the two decided to hear him out. "The Lady is the supposed mother of all Kitsune. She is said to have many tails, normally referred to having ten or a thousand tails."

Tails nodded. "That would fit the bill. She gave me this ball, and it just seems to give off a feeling of security."

He then noticed the time and gasped. "Hey, Knuckles, does that clock work?"

Knuckles raised his eyebrows before looking at the clock beside him that said 1:09. "Oh, this? Nah, I never bothered to get it fixed."

Tails looked at him, eyes still widened. "And the brand is called "Joshua"?"

"Yeah; is that supposed to be of some significance?"

Tails immediately rushed off to his room and came back with a bible. He opened it to a specific page and read a passage. "Joshua, chapter one, verse nine. **Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.**"

Cosmo dropped her jaw slightly before regaining her composure. "Well, isn't that a coincidence?"

Tails shook his head. "I don't know Cosmo. Some things aren't coincidences in this world."

Knuckles nodded and looked off toward the pantry. "Well, looks like I've got to go to the nearest town and get some food. You guys want to come?"

Tails and Cosmo nodded, both wishing to escape the floating isle.

Knuckles cleared up the dishes and walked out the door, followed by the twosome. After some searching, he found a small alter with a glowing red orb on top. Walking up the steps, they all conjoined hands and Knuckles touched the orb, teleporting them off a distance.

They arrived at another alter; only the red orb there wasn't glowing. Once they all stepped off, the red orb regained its glow and they continued on.

While it took some walking, they finally spotted the town in the distance. "That's Silo City." Knuckles informed them. "It houses a military outpost that, as the name suggests, fires missiles at the Eggman's forces."

They walked through the city as Knuckles gave them a brief description of the small city. Citizens stared at them as they walked along. Well, them is a general term, as most of them were staring at a certain nine-tailed fox.

Tails was looking down, attempting to hide his face as they walked on.

"_Do not fear, young one." _A voice suddenly said. Tails swished his head around, trying to determine the source of the voice.

"Cosmo, did you hear that?"

She turned toward him. "Hear what?" She asked.

Tails shook his head and dismissed it. That is, until he heard it again. _"It is I, The Lady." _The voice explained. _"Do not let the opinions of others disturb you. Unfurl your tails and let the world lay witness to your power."_

He looked toward the sky, smiling, knowing that she was out there somewhere, watching over him like God. Following her advice, he flared out his tails, letting them wave about happily, but making sure not to hit anybody.

Rather than glare, some people would tend to gasp or gawk at his tails. It was like flipping a switch.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

January-1-3457

10:18 Mobius Time

Tikal gazed at a small screen, showing the multiple outcomes of Tails' life. She enjoyed watching this boy's life play out, as it was like watching a high school drama and an action film at the same time. So many thoughts swirled through the boy's head, and she knew most of them were deep.

Next to her, discussing his many outcomes, was Chaos, the fluid-like embodiment of chaos energy.

There were many possible outcomes, ranging from very tragic to immensely happy. At the rate things were going for him, some of those tragic incidents may occur.

Chaos made a couple of strange noises and Tikal nodded, as if understanding.

"Yes, Chaos, he does lead a very tragic life." She affirmed.

Looking back at the screens now, she noticed that some of the screens had disappeared, leaving only two. One displayed Tails and everyone finally having victory over Eggman and the other displayed nothing but fizzled grey.

Tikal widened her eyes slightly when she spotted a giant silver fox with a thousand tails walking toward her. The giant kitsune then shrunk so it was about Tikal's size. "I should've known you'd be interfering with your child's future, Lady."

The silver kitsune shrugged. "What can I say? Any alternative passage would leave him in an existence of anger, pain, or betrayal and I will not condemn my own child to such a fate."

Tikal shook her head. "Still, to advance him onto methods of Kitsune magic that he shouldn't learn until he's at least a hundred years of age… don't you think it's too soon?"

The Lady then strode toward the future-reading screen and gazed momentarily. "It may be too soon, as the second possibility describes…" She pointed at the fizzed out screen, "Still, I think that he will be able to defeat Eggman and return peace to Mobius… with or without his life."

Tikal sighed and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to turn around. "Sometimes, your decisions are reckless, don't you think that?"

The Lady continued to smile as she was told this. "Maybe, but I believe this is for the best."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Vanilla and Cream's House

January-1-3457

10:57 Mobius Time

It was just an average morning for the Rabbit family as they wandered through house, wondering what to do. Of course, the house was a little overfilled with the extra people they had staying here.

Vanilla had taken it upon herself to play host for the time travelers and was currently completing her homely duties. Everyone else had decided to strike up a conversation.

"I don't understand why Tails doesn't want to come back to the Mystic Ruins." Cream said, continuing the conversation. "It would be much better than the dank forest."

Violet held up a finger to reason. "Well, due to his banishment, he's not even allowed in his own house, let alone the Mystic Ruins area."

"I don't see why he can't come here, though." Sapphire tried reasoning, until Durin shushed her.

"You see, sis, if they found out we were hiding him here, the law would be all over us; not something you want when you're trying to save the world." He said, putting an end to that thought.

Shane still held a face full of anger, but he tried his best to hide it. "Still, you'd think that after all he's done to help us, they'd unbanish him."

Gary stared at him for a moment before saying, "Is _unbanish _even a word?"

"That's not the point!"

Sam was groaning at their pointless bickering over grammar. "Look you two, settle down."

Andy was snickering at the comment. "You're one to talk about calm, Sam."

The energetic lion shrugged. "What can I say? I'm naturally perky."

Alexa sighed and shook her head. "Just shut-up!" She shouted, silencing them before she continued. "So, anyway, me and Sonic were…"

"Sonic and I!" Melodi corrected.

There was a momentary silence before Alexa smacked her on the back of the head lightly. "As I was saying, Sonic and I were wondering what Tails has been going through since he left, but he won't tell us."

"Maybe it's something personal." Coral suggested.

Ana then shrugged. "Well, I sure would be angry if my own city kicked me out, _after _I saved them from utter destruction."

Renna was smiling, for no apparent reason, so it seemed. "Well, last time I check his psyche…"

"Renna, have you been reading my dad's mind again?" Shane asked.

Renna rolled her eyes. "What. You think I can read his mind from here?" They both paused as Shane glared at her. "Okay, so maybe I did. Anyway, he seems to be getting along better than when I checked on him a couple days ago.

Shane continued to scold her for invading his dad's mind while the others laughed at Renna's hilarious comebacks.

Yes, it was just another fine morning…

… Or was it?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"_Karen, prepare the Kinetic Orbital Strike."_

"_Sure thing, Eggman. They won't know what hit 'em."_

* * *

><p>*<strong>Vade te malignus spiritus<strong> is another Latin reference. It literally means: **Begone with you, evil spirit.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Incredible! This must be my longest chapter yet. I own nothing that isn't mine, and vice-versa. Please R&R, and ENJOY! This chapter was fixed with help from Writer's Freedom. Thanks again!**

* * *

><p>Unknown Location<p>

January-2-3457

11:03 Mobius Time

It was comfortably cold in a large construct. A window in a nearby room proved the construct not to be bound to Mobius as stars flickered in the window. A screen flickered on and a being turned toward the screen which showed a rotund man in a red jump suit.

"_Karen, prepare the Kinetic Orbital Strike." _The fat man said over the communication line, receiving a nod from the other being referred to as Karen.

"Sure thing Eggman, they won't know what hit them."

The screen then flickered off as the coms channel was cut, leaving the black fox inside a dank room of the large construct. She walked out, her boots creating a clomp with every step she took in the mechanical hallway. She practically pounded her way through the halls as she cackled maniacally, letting everyone hear her, not caring.

Soldiers of all types passed her as she made her rounds. Some were various types of robots, obviously of Eggman origin. Some were live, sentient Mobians that had defected against the "corrupt government." Sentient or no, they were all scared for the sanity of their commander, which seemed to be long gone.

Some were thinking of ways to help her while others were making bets on how long before she started cutting herself. "Greetings, Commander." One soldier finally perked up. "On what business are you traversing the K.O.C.S. today?"

She paused in her walking and breathed deeply, held it, and finally exhaled. Turning toward the opossum that spoke to her, she answered, "I want the mechanics at full alert. If there is any issue with the cannon's firing mechanism, I want to be notified."

The 'possum raised an eyebrow to the request. "May I ask the reason for this diagnostics check, Ms. Karen?"

She breathed in and out again before she glared at the opossum. She then got up in his face and jabbed him with her finger. "Soldier, I have explicit orders to prime the cannon for firing at an undisclosed location! Now get to work,** IMMEDIATELY**!" She barked, sending the other soldiers into a frenzy of work.

Leaving her lackeys to attend to their business, she entered another room. It basically held large dashboard on the far wall. Typing in a few keys on the dashboard, a screen above her turned on, revealing an aerial view of the ground below them.

She pressed another button and a screen in the bottom left corner appeared, displaying the rotund scientist once more. _"Yes, what is it?" _He asked.

"The cannon is charging, sir. May I have the coordinates of the target?"

Eggman nodded. _"The coordinates are as follows… Green Hill, X 150.4, Y 120.6, Z 15.04."_

"Copy, inputting coordinates now." She responded, typing in the said values all the while. When the numbers were entered, the crosshairs moved and zoomed in, showing a small house.

Karen was stunned for a moment. The house didn't appear special in any way, so she assumed that it was the person inside that was of importance.

Nonetheless, she asked, "Sir, what is so important about the house?"

"_It is not really the house that is important. The person residing in it matters slightly more, but the real purpose is for… propaganda, so to say."_

Karen sighed. Sometimes she wondered just what went through the old geezers head. "The cannon is charging, and moving into ideal alignment, but it will take time, as we are on the opposite side of the planet," She affirmed, "Karen out."

The screen fizzled out, leaving her to her thoughts in the dark room.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox Presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 6**

**More Primitive Measurements**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Military Establishment in Castle Acorn

January-2-3457

12:19 Mobius Time

Shane the Fox leaned up against the wall of the corridor, as if waiting for someone. He'd been there for quite a while, so waiting was the perfect assumption of what he was doing. A white echidna walked out of a room nearby and Shane walked forward.

"Hey, Alex, wait up!" He shouted at him, getting the albino echidna to slow down. He was wearing average military attire, as well as a black trench coat.

"I heard you had a meeting with internals. How'd it go?" He question Alex, who continued to walk with him.

"Oh, I'm not really supposed to talk about that." He answered nonchalantly.

Shane shrugged a little. "Come on, help me out here," He continued to plead, "I need to know if there's anything I can do to help."

Alex glanced back over to his compatriot and said, "Man, you saved me back at that Abstergo base. I think you've done a lot."

Shane just shook his head. "There's still has to be something I can do."

Alex sighed as he looked at the arctic fox. There was so much pain hidden in his eyes, he could tell, yet still a need to help. Mobians in the armed forces were running past them while they continued their conversation. "Well, don't worry. They didn't say anything about you. It was mostly details about the insurrection and the information that you guys recovered, and…"

He was cut off when a weasel in military uniform ran into him.

"What's going on?" Alex asked to the open before directing himself at the weasel. "Soldier, where is everyone running to?"

The weasel seemed eager to reply. "We got some new agent facing off against Shadow, Sonic and Knuckles in the training room. I'm going to watch!"

The soldier ran off, leaving them eager to see the fight themselves. "Three on one? I've got to see this." Alex said, before leaving for the training room's second floor; the observation level.

They got there just in time to see the round begin. All of them were holding a sort of Bo staff, called a Feujel Stick, which produced an electric shock when you were hit by it.

A monitor overhead showed the score and number of rounds. On the right were Sonic's, Shadow's, and Knuckles' names and on the left was… Cosmo? Yes it was, but she appeared to wearing a kind of black suit, probably for mobility purposes.

A female voice said over the intercom, _**"Round one begins in five… four… three… two… one."**_

The three charged at Cosmo and she just whipped the staff around, knocking them all off balance. Skillfully twirling the electric tipped rod, she battered them while they tried to get hits in. Sonic swung the staff overhead, trying to catch her off guard. She responded by bring her staff above and blocking it.

Deflecting Sonic, she smashed the rod into his side, throwing him down while continuing to twirl it into Shadow and Knuckles expertly.

"Whoa! I thought Cosmo was against fighting." Sapphire commented from above. All the other time travelers were here to watch the fight, as well as all of Sonic's company.

Tails nodded, looking at his girlfriend's fierce moves. "Yup. She's become the epitome of reactions and skill."

Cosmo was now carrying Knuckles on her back. With her staff over her shoulders, trapping the echidna's neck to her body, she confidently strode over to Sonic and Shadow, who were stumbling in their attempts to stand up. She let Knuckles go and whipped the rod around like a baseball bat, crashing into the other two.

As they stumbled, she twisted the rod as if it were a baton and smashed them with electric blows. Knuckles charged and swung a blow, but she redirected it and caught upside the chin. When Sonic came rushing in, she bent back, dodging a swing while using that momentum to forward a kick to his jaw while she put the Feujel Stick in his gut. With Shadow being the only one standing, she began up a combination of battering, leading to one final golf-club-like strike. Shadow flew back a few feet and landed on his back as the end of Cosmo staff broke off.

"_**Round over. Point, Cosmo."**_The intercom spoke, leaving Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles to stumble around before wobbling off to the rest area.

"Great job, Cosmo! You were amazing." Amy congratulated her when she arrived in the observation room.

To have beaten Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow single handedly was amazing, but she left them in a daze. Cosmo nodded but remained silent. _It's not something I'm proud of…_

The other three were resting on the other side of the room. "Well… that was impressive." Shadow simply put as Cream healed his wounds.

The young rabbit nodded. "Quite a change from the Cosmo we knew on the Blue Typhoon, huh?"

Rouge chimed in then. "Remember when she was that helpless, innocent little girl?"

"She's nothing like that now." Sonic said unconfidently. He was bothered, not by the fact that he was just put in his place by Cosmo, but by the question of why she would need to have such skills.

Shane was still awed by what his mother was capable of. He never knew she was such an expert at Bo staff combat. "Wow…"

"Wow is right, Shane." Durin said as he looked at his dad. Knuckles still wore a grin, seeing as it was nothing more than friendly competition.

"_**Would the fighters please return to the arena?" **_The female voice requested over the intercom, drawing Cosmo, Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles from their state of calm.

Moments later, they appeared on the floor, fists raised._** "Hand to hand combat, begin."**_

"Alright, guys," Sonic said, "Shadow you're going to give me some cover…"

Shadow had already run forward and was subsequently knocked back. "Or, you could just run in and get immobilized first." Sonic sarcastically stated. "Alright, Knuckles, you and I should…"

He hadn't finished talking when Knuckles was thrown behind Sonic, on his back. He turned to face his fallen teammates and said, "What, am I the only one who knows how to talk?"

"I don't think talking's your problem."

Sonic turned around to be faced with Cosmo who was less than a foot from him. "What the…?"

He only managed to say that before she struck a blow to his abdomen. He stumbled back before she attempted a punch that Sonic only blocked. Knuckles had gotten back up by then and was charging toward her, fist flying forward. He aimed for her face, but she moved to the side and flung Knuckles into Sonic using his forward momentum.

Shadow had stood up and was exchanging blows and blocks with her by that point in time. Cosmo attempted a kick to the gut but Shadow blocked that and countered with a punch for the face.

She put up her arms for a momentary block before they both became off balance. Sonic and Knuckles came charging in afterward and she became surrounded. Using every sense she could, she expertly dodged all their blows and countered appropriately.

Finding an opening, she slid under Knuckles' legs and kicked him in the back. When he tried getting up behind her, she twisted around and planted a devastating blow to his gut.

With Sonic and Shadow coming after her, she jumped in the air and split-kicked them in the head, leaving them down for the count.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Knuckles attempting to get up. Deciding to put a stop to that, she whipped a round house kick around, colliding with his head and sending him into the ground.

"_**Round two, over. Point awarded to Cosmo." **_The intercom stated, allowing the fighters to leave the ring.

"Man, I thought _we _went through tough training." Shadow said in a disappointing manner.

Violet sighed and shook her head. "Well, she must have gone further." She then looked back over to Cosmo and shook her head again.

"The real question is how far they have to go," Ana interjected.

Their conversation was cut short when the intercom called them out to the arena again. Tails put his hand on Como's shoulder and asked her, "Cosmo, are you okay?"

She shook her head. "Why did things have to come to this, Tails?"

Tails was a bit taken back by the question, but he soon regained his composure. "I don't know, Cosmo, but our skills will be of use to for our cause."

She sighed before stepping back out into the arena. _**"Now resetting the stage for Lockdown paint simulation," **_The voice said while block like pillars rose from the arena ground.

"Ugh, I hate that paint," Coral complained, though she wasn't fighting, "It hardens and prevents movement."

Shane shrugged. "I wouldn't know. It's not so bad if you don't let it hit you."

Andy muttered something about being a showoff as the round started off.

Sonic hid behind one pillar while Knuckles hid behind one next to his. "Hey, Knuckles. Let's think this through," The blue speedster suggested. "You cover me, okay?"

Knuckles had already run out. He was thrown back, frozen and covered in purple hardening paint. "Or, you can run in and get yourself killed. Break. Great job, everybody."

To his left was Shadow, also frozen in place by the hardening paint. "This is going to be a long day."

He ran through the course, always expecting her to be around one corner. He would catch a glimmer of movement here, or a little flutter of sound there, but she was gone the next second.

Turning the next corner, he came face to face with Cosmo's hardening paint gun. The last thing he saw was her trigger finger squeezing before his vision blackened.

Soon after, the round reset and they were going at it again. Searching around, they attempted to keep their formation tight, but seemed to find no sign of her.

They turned one corner and it was all over.

Cosmo brought her paint ball pistol about and fired it at Shadow's head, being rewarded with his head encased in purple solid and he fell over.

She fought Knuckles at close combat while Sonic fired at her from a longer range, but she managed to dodge the flying paint pellets, all the while keeping Knuckles at bay. Knuckles finally managed to disarm her, but she had something else up her sleeve.

Twisting his arm around, but not enough to break it, she snatched his pistol and shot him where the sun doesn't shine.

Sonic took this opportunity to dash over to her and close the distance. This inevitably failed when Cosmo swept her leg across his travel path, tripping him up and leaving him on the ground.

She fired the gun at his head, leaving him immobile.

The whole thing turned into a form of montage sequence. They would attempt to fight her off, while she continued to put them in their place. Sonic hid behind a pillar and looked toward Knuckles, whose head was frozen by paint. "Hey, Knuckles, can you see her?"

It was the little he got out before he felt something metal pushed against the back of his head. "Never mind, man, I think I found her." His head was then frozen by a pellet of paint.

Another round began. Knuckles, Sonic and Shadow tried actually coordinating for once. They nodded to each other and came out. Sonic jumped over a pillar and the other two turned their corners… only to be anticlimactically met with a round of paint for each.

The eight paint rounds blurred by, leaving them with extra down time.

Stream stared at Cosmo as she walked into the lounge room, completely unscathed. "Wow, you won all ten rounds, three on one, like it was nothing!" He marveled, giving Cosmo a small smile.

"Thanks," She replied before running off and into the arms of her beloved.

"You did amazingly, Cosmo! I think that was your best yet." Tails complemented her. She smiled widely at the praise she was receiving.

"Still, I think I'm ready for a break." She modestly spoke while looking over to Knuckles who was still clutching between his legs and moaning. "And, I think they need a break, too."

Tails pulled his cloak over him, as did Cosmo, and they walked out of the room, accompanied by the others. Lunch was in great need after the quarrel they had just participated in.

Tails reached into his tail fur and pulled out his small white ball. He smiled at it while tossing it up and down in a continuous motion.

Sonic, unnerved by Cosmo's talent for fighting, asked Tails, "Why did you _need _to become so strong?"

Tails stopped and almost glared at his surrogate brother. "Sonic, you need to understand that we stand tall so that others can have their happy lives. We remain strong so that others don't have to." Tails then began walking again while Sonic stayed there, absorbing his words. "This isn't like it used to be, Sonic. No more nonchalant attitude. This is a war."

That said, Tails returned to tossing his ball up and down.

Some of the passing soldiers greeted them happily, as if not caring for Tails' extra tails. _Then again, why would they? _The kitsune asked himself. He did fight side by side with them, after all.

Alex meandered next to him and whispered, "The entire army is with you, Tails. We won't tell the Parliament."

Tails seemed visibly happier once he said that. He then decided to pull down the hood and expose his face.

They walked into a small cafeteria that the Armed Forces of Mobius had posted. It acted as not only a food dispenser, but a morale raiser as well. Soldiers in their downtime would chat about their lives, their reasons for fighting, and who they were going to be coming home to once the war ended.

Plus, with the revenue the army received from a blank check, it was all entirely free. While Tails and Cosmo preferred a large salad, most of the others had some kind of meat-based food, such as submarine sandwiches or fried chicken.

They pulled some tables and chairs together, making plenty of room for their party of more than twenty. Shadow started things off, speaking, "Well, Tails, what are you going to do next?"

Tails sighed while chomping into a piece of lettuce. "I don't know, Shadow. We'll probably wait for our next assignment from G.U.N. and remain under the radar as much as possible."

The black hedgehog then smirked. "Well, Tails, I have something you may want to see."

Tails twitched his ears slightly. "What may that be?"

Shadow folded his arms and closed his eyes confidently. "That's for me to know, and you to find out."

The kitsune pouted slightly for being denied the truth as Shadow laughed, thinking, _I know something you don't!_

Secret keeping aside, they had quaint lunch break, discussing their concerns on the war and recounting their triumphs over Eggman. Tails looked out the window and sighed. _It's like an experiment, _He thought, _No amount of merely beating Eggman will put him down, but it only takes him one win to dominate everything._

He shook that thought off and tried positive thinking for once. He glanced back over to his girlfriend who was happily chatting with the other girls and he smiled. _I still have her. That alone is worth fighting for._

When they walked outside and into a vastly deserted area of Green Hill, they decided on doing something that they hadn't done in a while.

Tails looked at the others with a cocky smirk. "Alright, I know some of you are impressed by what Cosmo can do," He began. Amy raised an eyebrow, wearing a facial expression that screamed, _Of course we are!_

"I assure you that, just like old times, Shadow and I can help train you."

Yup; it was combat trainings' glorious return.

Groans were volleyed about them as Tails smirked. He had neutral feelings for training; while he saw it as a way to improve himself, it also lead to injury in some respect. He put up a hand and they silenced themselves.

"This time, we will improve only through execution," he stated clearly. "There will be no _practice_. If _you_ screw up, it's _your_ well-being that you have to worry about."

He then directed his focus towards Shane and his company and nodded at them. "_They _will act as critiques, pointing out your flaws as I'm sure they can take care of their own training." He chuckled inwardly at the irony of what he said.

Cosmo gathered up the girls and divided them accordingly. Amy was paired off against Rouge while Cosmo took Cream for some more advanced medical training.

Amy and Rouge, having already had a grudge against each other, were eager to beat each other's faces into the ground until Tails stepped in and halted them and gestured over to where Knuckles and Sonic already were. Once there, he laid out five packs. He tossed each pack to the ground and they landed with a loud thump.

"You will all be fighting your partner…" He said while having each of them open their designated pack. Inside, they discovered four long, cylindrical metal bracelets, each about five inches long. "… You will also be wearing these."

Shadow raised an eyebrow at the trinkets. "What are these supposed to do?"

Tails only smirked more. "It's not what they do, but what they keep you from doing," He explained while picking up one of them and tossing it to Sonic. He caught it, needless to say, but it felt heavy for its size. "These are training weights. They each are made of a very dense metal alloy and they weigh approximately forty pounds each."

They all dropped their jaws for a moment. "You will attach one to every limb of your body; one for each arm and leg."

Shadow looked at Tails with what you could've identifies as shock. "So, where are your training weights?"

Tails heartily laughed at the question. "Well, I don't know if you can notice, but…" He then pulled up the sleeves on his cloak and pulled down his socks. "Cosmo and I are always wearing our weights, which already weigh twice as much as yours."

He also flared out his tails. "There's one on every tail as well. I just feel too light without them on." Everyone gapped at him while Cosmo waved from over where she was.

Sonic closed his eyes and looked down, putting up his hands, as if about to say something. "So you're telling me that Cosmo beat us three, _while _wearing eighty pound weights on her arms and legs?"

He bored his eyes into Tails, who was sweating. He had thought that it would encourage him. "Yes, Sonic. You five will each undergo the same training that Cosmo and I did, if not for the same amount of time.

Once everyone put their weights on, Tails asked them, "How do you feel?"

While they were having trouble lifting their arms and legs, or even standing at all, Rouge glared at Tails. "I feel one hundred and sixty pounds heavier." She blatantly stated.

Tails exhaled slowly. They obviously didn't see the importance of this training. "Look, I know this method seems a little primitive, but after a couple weeks of non-stop training in that, I guarantee that you'll already be moving at least four times the speed you can already move."

This obviously motivated them, as they began training afterward.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Parliament Discussion Quarters

January-2-3457

15:21 Mobius Time

"This meeting is going to begin to assess a matter concerning Miles "Tails" Prower," A female falcon said. She was dressed plainly in a white robe, as the entire parliament was.

"Remind me, Persepolis, what concerns the kit?" An older walrus responded to her. The falcon named Persepolis glared slightly at him.

An old crow then stood from his spot at the round table and put his hands on the table. "Persepolis' reason for holding this meeting is that we believe the fox has infiltrated military forces."

Everyone at the table gasped slightly. "Surly you must be joking, Gerard!" The walrus tried to reason, but the crow named Gerard shook his head.

"I was given this information by a confident, who asked that his name not be spoken." He assured them. "Do you have any possible ideas on how to go about this, Lucifer?"

The walrus shrugged. "Undercover investigations aren't my specialty. Perhaps Juliet can suggest something?"

The female lemur gave a few skeptical glances to nowhere in particular before coming upon a conclusion. "I question why we don't just kill him, if he is that much of a nuisance."

The leader of the parliament, a middle aged grey rat smirked devilishly. He pointed at Juliet and widened his eyes while retaining the smirk. "One does not question an insane man's ability to rid himself of someone he despises."

"But, are you insane, Jeremy?" Gerard asked. The smile almost immediately disappeared off of the rat's face.

"That... is questionable…"


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I think that this is my longest chapter , by far. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sega, or Alexa the Hedgehog and Melodi the Cat. They are my friends OC's.**

**Claimer: I own my OC's and this plot.**

* * *

><p>Kinetic Orbital Cannon Station<p>

February-1-3457

15:19 Mobius Time

"_All personnel, prepare to fire the Orbital Cannon in approximately two hours. This is not a drill." _

The announcement rang throughout the space station as Mobians and robots alike rushed to and fro to operate their station. Everything had to be just right so that the cannon could fire properly. There was always something that could go wrong in a situation like this. A gear could jam, or a part could be rusty, but any minor issue could cause a total systemic collapse.

Karen walked through the station, examining everything and asking herself, _why?_ _Why go through all the trouble, and what for? World domination? Look at where that's got me…_

She shook the thought off as she made her rounds, making sure everything was in order. Mechanics rushed about in the bowels of the station, checking and double checking all systems to assure that they were in proper condition. The black vixen smiled at her crew of advanced operators and smiled. It wasn't every day that you were charge of such a spectacular group of individuals.

A raven rushed up to her and saluted. She returned the salute and said, "Go ahead, soldier. What's the situation?"

The raven returned to attention and spoke, "All systems are operating to standards, ma'am. We are now waiting for the proper alignment with the target."

She smirked and eyed the soldier eerily. "Excellent."

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox Presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 7**

**Out With a Bang**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Sky Sanctuary, Angel Island

February-1-3457

15:30 Mobius Time

In almost no time at all, a month whizzed by. Newly grown flowers were beginning to peak out of the melting snow on the floating island. The flower was crushed by someone accidentally stepping on it. Knuckles backed up slowly, his fists raised at his target, a blue hedgehog.

He shifted his body forward, attempting to strike his target, but it zipped away at the last moment. He saw this coming and snapped a kick out to the side, striking Sonic square in the chest. Sonic tumbled backward but quickly regained his footing, launching a couple of strikes of his own. They traded strikes and blocks until Sonic grabbed Knuckles' head and pulled him in for a knee blow to the face. Knuckles reeled back and held his face while Sonic spun and planted a side kick in his abdomen, launching him backwards.

Knuckles got back up and lunged forward for a punch. When Sonic replied with a punch as well, they both struck each other in the face, leading to them both being unconscious. A nearby kitsune looked upon them with glee.

"That's the third time today." He said before moving on to Amy and Rouge.

Amy jumped forward, performing a flying side kick that Rouge easily dodged. The bat then whipped a round house kick at her and caught her in the back. Amy, distraught with anger, got back up and shot out a couple more uncoordinated punches and kicks.

She might as well have been blind.

Rouge parried her fourth punch and placed her fist into Amy's gut, leading to Amy coughing up a drop of blood or two.

Tails sighed, seeing that Amy would need to remain calm in a battle situation, no matter how frustrating. It was a rather disadvantageous of her anger issues. "Alright, girls, you can stop now."

They continued fighting, regardless of his words. He then put his hand to his temple and shook his head. "When I said, 'you can stop now,' I meant, 'you _will _stop now!'" He growled angrily. The feuding girls took notice of this and gulped, deciding they'd rather stop than face Tails' wrath.

He didn't like making threats, but he always seemed to be the least respected person in the group, regardless of age or strength. Shadow walked by him and put his hand on Tails' shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

Tails nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Once Cosmo had helped everyone to recuperate, they met over by a rock to discuss their weaknesses and strengths. "Sonic, I've come to notice that you tend to rely on your speed too much," Tails pointed out, "Your attacks tend to be sloppy, and unplanned, as if you're improvising too much. You need to learn to focus more on strength and form, because speed won't get you everywhere."

Tails then moved his gaze over to Knuckles. "On the other hand, Knuckles, you have impressive form and strength, but you need to train your agility so you don't get caught in one place too long."

He looked over to Amy and raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna be honest, Amy. You have good strength and good agility, but you have poor form. You let the enemy anger you and you attack blindly out of frustration. Keep a level head when fighting, okay?"

Amy nodded meekly in understanding. Tails grinned and looked at Rouge. "I think that, out of all of us, you have the best control over your agility and strength. However, like Amy, you are easily angered when things aren't going your way."

Finally he shifted his gaze over to Shadow. "And you… I've got nothing to say to you, Shadow." He concluded. Having fought the black hedgehog himself, Tails knew that he only needed to continue training.

Tails looked at Cosmo and smirked. She winked at him, giving him the okay. "Alright, guys. Take off your training weights."

Though confused, they followed orders anyway and removed the weights from their arms and legs. Knuckles was the first to point out, "Wow! I feel so light!"

They all tried moving, and it almost seemed unnatural to them. It even took them a while to get their center of balance affirmed again. Tails then said, "I want all of you to run to that rock over there, as fast as you can."

Without question, they all ran over to the rock. While Sonic and Shadow were the first to make it, of course, they all covered the one hundred meter distance in record breaking time. Each of them had done it in less than five seconds, Sonic and Shadow having done it in less than two second.

They all gawked at the speed they were running at, even Shadow and Sonic, whose speeds were already unnatural. Tails ran over to them and raised a finger, as if preaching. "See, when you train for a month with an extra one hundred and sixty pounds added, and then remove that weight, you can see the difference."

While they were still gawking at their own speed, Shadow had to ask, "What's your speed without the weights on, Tails?"

The kitsune shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I never take them off."

That said, Tails unclamped all of the eighty pound weights on his body, including the ones on his tails. Shadow did a quick math check and figured that he was wearing a total of one thousand and forty pounds. _How much faster can he move?_

Tails looked at the rock he was racing for and made his move. It's too bad you couldn't see it happen. Tails practically disappeared from the spot and reappeared next to the rock in an instant.

Several sonic booms were created in his wake as Tails turned around to see the expression on their faces. All of them held faces of complete shock, except for Cosmo.

"Well, I'd say that's a good couple thousand kilometers per hour." Tails summed up while walking back and putting his training weights on again.

They continued to stare at him for a moment before Shadow broke the awkward silence. "So… what are the kids doing?" He asked, bringing attention to the time-travelers.

Tails was quick to answer. "Don't you remember? They left four days ago to find another chaos emerald."

Tails' emerald radar had stated that an emerald had found its way into their vicinity. Since Sonic's company was training, it was up to their offspring to find it.

"Yeah, but you'd think they'd be back by now." Knuckles pointed out.

Sonic sighed and looked in a random direction. "We'll just have to wait till they get back."

Before departing, Tails turned around and said, "Remember to keep your training weights on at all times!" Everyone groaned slightly.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

G.U.N. Headquarters

February-2-3457

15:47 Mobius Time

General Felix O'Donnell sat down at one end of the large conference table. To his left was Alexander Zednanref, leader of Explosive Search and Destroy team Alpha and to his right was Syaoron Prower, ally from the distant future. Shane's friends sat around the table, joining in on the conversation.

"It has been brought to my attention that the Parliament has become aware of Miles' presence in G.U.N. We believe that there is an informant in our ranks that is blabbing to the Parliament." Felix stated, receiving a gasp from everyone.

"But, have we identified the informant?" Shane asked, to which Alexander shook his head.

"Not as of yet. For all we know, there could be multiple informants."

Renna stood from the table and almost shouted, "That defies G.U.N.'s right to secrecy, though!"

Felix nodded. "That, it does. We're having our lawyers confide in Queen Sally about this. This doesn't solve the problem of Miles' existence becoming known."

There was a period of silence as they attempted to figure out the problem. The door to their conference room then burst open. A chipmunk and a leopard came in while keeping a grey cat restrained. "Sir, we noticed this one eavesdropping." The chipmunk said while Felix nodded.

"So, I _was_ correct to place you on guard. Thank you, gentlemen." Felix dismissed them while the grey cat stood in front of them.

The grey cat was quivering when they all glared at him. "Look, I have no clue what's going on, so…"

"Wrong!" Andy yelled at him. He began poking him forcefully and said, "You know exactly what's going on. Now, why are you relaying these messages to the parliament?"

There was a moment of silence before the cat burst out into psychotic laughter. He pulled his military jacket open and revealed his chest, which was strapped with several plastic packages. Each had a small red light, blinking every second. The speed of the beeping became faster all of a sudden.

"Everybody, get down!" Shane shouted. They all barely made it under the table before the soldier violently exploded. The explosion destroyed the front portion of the table, but it kept everyone safe. All that was left of the informant was a disfigured body and a puddle of blood.

Coral looked in fear at the body before hiding her face in Shane's chest, who held her understandingly. Everyone else was equally disgusted and preferred to turn the other cheek, wishing not to lay eyes upon such madness.

"Well… so much for interrogation." Felix muttered while diverting his eyes.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Knuckles' House

February-1-3457

16:01 Mobius Time

Clouds were beginning to form over the horizon as Cosmo and Knuckles began preparing a rather large proportion of Fettuccini and Alfredo sauce. The noodles boiled and softened in a pot of water while Knuckles melted cheese in another pot, adding in seasonings to the paste.

Oh, it smelled marvelous, even from the other side of the house. Maybe it was the small amount of garlic that Knuckles but it the Alfredo sauce, or the perfect amount of salt that was grinded into the pot. Whatever it was, it smelled heavenly.

It tasted even better as Knuckles, Cosmo, Tails, and their two new guests, Shadow and Rouge, ate the cheesy, slim noodles. Some slurping was involved as they scarfed down their meals, enjoying it with gusto. Tails was able to resist the urge to take another bit and raised his glass, as the others did soon after. "I think it's fair to say that this is the best meal, ever… of all time." Tails complemented, such did others around the table. Proposing a toast to health, they all clinked glasses and took sips of their sparkling grape juice.

Once their plates were emptied and cleaned, they sat in the living room. Tails sat with Cosmo in what else but the love seat, while Knuckles, Rouge and Shadow sat on the larger couch.

There was nothing but silence for a few minutes. They looked back and forth between one another until Shadow finally said, "This is awkward."

They all nodded. "So… is life treating you good?" Cosmo asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

Most of them shrugged or muttered something to themselves, but Knuckles responded with, "Depends; are we winning to war?"

"Yes."

"Then my answer is also yes," Knuckles stated confidently. He fidgeted in his spot to try to get more comfortable. "How do you guys go through everyday wearing these training weights?"

"After a while, it just becomes routine." Tails answered.

Shadow raised an eyebrow to the kit that was his protégé and frowned slightly. "You know, Tails, with all this training, when do you ever apply it?"

Tails answer was firm. "Only when I need to."

There was silence before Tails noticed something. Everyone seemed to be moving slower, for some reason.

_Hello again, kit._ A voice told him.

Tails swished his head around, trying to find the source of the voice. It chuckled in his head momentarily. _Have I not visited in so long that you've forgotten my voice?_

He immediately knew who it was. _Go outside for a moment. I need to talk with you._

He wore a puzzled face when the world returned to speed. "Hey, guys, I'm going to step outside for a while." He excused himself while walking out.

Once he was a fair distance from the house, a glowing orb of white appeared in front of him. Tails smirked at the blowing ball and said, "It has been a while since we last met… Lady."

A laugh came from the orb. "Ah, so you _do _remember me." The Lady confirmed. The ghostly figure of a kitsune about Tails' height with a thousand tails appeared soon after.

"You said I would discover my _true potential _eventually." Tails recalled. "What exactly are you referring to?"

The Lady adopted a teacher-like expression and said, "Your potential is found everywhere, Miles. You just have to know where to look."

Tails sighed and brought his hand to his temple, massaging it. "Do spirits like you _always _have to give cryptic answers?"

She then poked him in the stomach, but her finger phased right through him. "Of course! It would be no fun, that way!"

She noticed Tails rolling his eyes and she breathed a sigh. "That is not the reason I wanted to talk to you."

Tails smirked and raised his eyebrow. "Surly, you jest?" He noted sarcastically.

It was the Lady's turn to roll her eyes now, as she said, "No, I wanted to give you a heads up. You will be brought somewhere, soon. I can't tell you where and I can't tell you when, but it will be soon."

"Is that so?"

She sighed. "I wish I could, but I made a bet."

Tails gave her a skeptical look and continued to stare until his ear twitched. "Someone's coming, Lady." He whispered, to which she nodded.

"I'll see you another time, Miles." She finished before she disappeared into thin air.

There was some rustling in the grass before Rouge came out from behind a tree. "Who was that?" She asked. Tails began to sweat. His gaze shifted to the left, and then up as he thought of a lie.

"Oh, I was just talking to myself." He replied.

Rouge stared him down. "You know, that might've been convincing if you hadn't shifted your gaze." Tails widened his eyes. "People tend to look to the left if their thinking of something."

The vulpine inwardly cursed. "Now, who were you talking to?"

Tails sighed and replied with the only cryptic answer he could think of. "My mother."

Rouge gave him a look, indicating that she didn't buy it. Tails shook his head. "It's… complicated."

The bat thief rolled her eyes at him as she headed back toward the house. Instead of following, Tails walked the steps of the shrine ad gazed at the glimmering green stone. Though natural, it looked cleanly cut, as if some extraterrestrial being had crafted it.

Whatever the origin, it was still a magnificent thing, the Master Emerald. It shimmered and glowed, as if in response to the situation. Sometimes, against all logic, Tails thought it was a sentient being all on its own. He brushed the smooth surface with his gloved paw, pondering over many things that had come into his life.

_Where will I be going soon? Will it be dangerous? _These are some of the thoughts that swam through his mind as he continued to feel out the majestic gem.

There was more rustling in the nearby bushes and Tails drew his sword. He spotted a nearby bush, swaying in the wind, and returned his sword to its scabbard. _Perhaps I am getting a little too paranoid…_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Parliament Discussion Quarters

February-1-3457

16:30 Mobius Time

All the Parliament members were stressed, a rather unbecoming trait of the average politician. Each of them poured over piles of important documents, trying to make it appear that each one had some kind of importance. The leader, Jeremy, seemed sidetracked, though.

"What's the issue, Jeremy?" Persepolis questioned while continuing to eye the paper she was given. "You seem… disturbed, to some extent."

The rat sighed in response. He had it on his mind since he had received the report. "One of our informants has been found out."

A unanimous gasp was given and Gerard widened his eyes. "When?" He asked plainly.

"It was earlier, this afternoon. He was supposed to be taken in for interrogation."

Lucifer was clearly taken aback. He couldn't believe that one of the soldiers he had once trained would fail at such an important task. It practically spelled the end of their covert operations.

"What if he blabs about our intentions?" the walrus suggested. "Suppose he exposes us! Then what'll happen?"

Jeremy swiped his hand in a random direction, dismissing the thought. "He can't, remember? It's no longer possible for him to talk, _at all._"

Upon realization, they all held a moment of silence for their undercover informant, hoping he died as quickly as possible.

It was after the brief silence that they returned to their papers, pondering the counter-measures they'd need to take.

Many thought crossed their minds in the place of silence. Be they about the information they were supposed to be reading about, or about the threats that they were potentially under, they all circled around back to their main issue.

Miles Prower.

The documents were holding many important findings and hour-to-hour updates on the activity of G.U.N. and their subject. Originally, some of the informants had rejected this mission, saying that, "We're special forces, not babysitters." However, upon the presentation of 100,000 dollars in cash for completing the mission, the selected officials jumped at the chance for the job.

_How easily a mind is swindled with the use of money. _Jeremy thought while continuing to brush through his papers.

Without notice, a Mobian polar bear burst through the door to the room, startling the parliament members.

"What is the meaning of such an intrusion?" Juliet demanded of the bear, as they all regained their composure.

"I'm sorry, sirs and madams, but we have our radar has detected an unknown anomaly." The white omnivore excused himself while reporting the situation.

Gerard raised an eyebrow to this. "Where has the so called _anomaly _occurred?"

Their guest gulped audibly. "It's in outer space, sir!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Knuckles' House

February-1-3457

16:46 Mobius Time

Everyone formed a semi-circle around small table holding a laptop. Cosmo stood in front of it and everyone was listening to what she had to say… or what had already been said.

"What do you mean you've detected an energy spike, Cosmo?" Knuckles shouted, forcing everyone to cover their ears.

_Not so loudly, Knuckles. Just because it doesn't look like you have any ears doesn't mean you get to be loud. _Cosmo thought while rolling her eyes. "I mean exactly that. There is a huge energy reading that continues to rise, coming from outer space."

Tails looked skeptically at the radar screen. Walking up to it, he switched the view to an orbiting camera that was high above the atmosphere. "Where did you say the energy signature was coming from?"

She pointed to right of the screen. "It was a bit due west, I think."

He maneuvered the camera's angle slightly to the left… and almost immediately wished he hadn't. There, smack in the center of the screen, was a very menacingly appearing space station. It had two parts to it. The top half, which was shaped similar to a sardine can with some part jutting out, while others sank in. This is where all the operations took place.

Attached to the bottom of the actual station was a spire that appeared to have several constructed segments of metal gravitating around the spire. The spire was a very long, thin cone in its self, probably spanning half of a kilometer. Running through the column was shaft. From the places where the spire had glass on it, you could see energy pulsing through it like atoms in a particle accelerator.

The station operated in a similar way.

Tails widened his eyes and took two steps back, gawking at the station. "Th-th-that's a kinetic cannon!" He stuttered as everyone looked at him.

"Uh, Tails," Shadow spoke up, "What's a kinetic cannon?"

Tails widened his eyes further and began flailing his arms in a sporadic way. "The cannon magnetically accelerates the atoms into an overcharged state where the protons and electrons separate from the nucleus, giving you supercharged particle beam!"

There was a massive silence until Shadow said, "I'll take the easy version, please."

Tails mentally cursed himself. "Do you remember the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon from Halo: Reach?"

Shadow nodded. "This is the same thing, only ten times better."

That was when everyone started freaking out. "What? How could you tell us like that?" Knuckles squealed.

"It's like ripping off a Band-Aid!" Rouge panicked. Only Tails and Cosmo remained calm.

"You know what?" Tails started, "Go and die. Stupid people get to live a life of worry and fear… you're all doomed." He said this while maintaining an exasperate look.

Cosmo looked at the screen again in dismay. "The real question is; what is the cannon aiming at?"

Tails moved up to the keyboard and typed in a few components. The screen showed a triangulation process occurring, and when Tails received the results, he gasped again. "IT'S VANILLA AND CREAM'S HOUSE!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Vanilla and Cream's House

February-1-3457

17:03 Mobius Time

Evening was settling in for the evening, ready to have a genuine meal, courtesy of Vanilla. To serve the large group of people, there was a turkey set out on the table with a bowl of salad on the side. They had given their grace and were taking their first bites when their front door was slammed open.

Tails, Cosmo, Knuckles, Rouge, and Shadow came charging in the house. "What do you think you're doing?" the Cream scolded them as they continued moving in.

Tails was quick to respond. "We need to get you guys out of here! This place is going to become dust in a couple of minutes!"

Everyone, while not understanding, took up his offer and ran out of the building. Vanilla, while reluctant to follow, came along as well. When they were a good half kilometer from the house, Vanilla asked, "So, tell me again why you've dragged us out of my house at meal time?"

"It's an Orbital Kinetic Cannon, and it's aiming straight at your house!" Tails practically screamed.

Shane understood the situation and began a head count. "Okay, we have Renna, Sam, Sen, Sapphire, Stream, Coral, Andy, Ana, Durin, Violet, Gary, Alexa, and… where's Melodi?"

Tails' eyes widened and he began rushing back toward the house. The clouds began parting overhead, showing the Kinetic Cannon in its final stages of charging. He was quickly running out of time when he arrived at the house and noticed Melodi coming out of the bathroom.

Tails heard a high-pitched ringing and new it was firing. Rapidly and painfully, he elevated to the Solar Wind stage of inhibitor unlocking, turning his fur golden and his aura a bright green. With seven gates unlocked, he prepared for a counter to the laser.

He shouted, "TEMPEST RAY!" and shot up a beam of pure green, rushing to meet the Kinetic Cannon's orange beam.

"Tails, what's going on?" She screamed in fear. Tails was straining to keep the beam up all the while

"That's doesn't matter, Melodi! Get out of here!" He yelled while holding off the beam.

Sam warped in with a chaos emerald for a moment and said, "It's time to go, girl." She nodded, while not quite understanding the situation.

They warped out of range and Tails continued to supply the beam with power, attempting to cancel it out. It was truly a show to behold, as the quasar of light burst out, attracting much attention from all over the region.

Tails knew he was beginning to lose this fight as his beam retracted at the Kinetic Cannon's mighty power. All seemed lost when a voice said, _let go, child._

It was in that moment of epiphany that the kitsune figured out where he would be going. He let the energy go, allowing the beam to destroy the house and everything within a quarter of a kilometer.

To him, it all went black, and, just like his dreams, there was nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Yet another chapter. I hope you enjoy this one, as there will be some humor _just _for you!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that isn't mine. I own my OC's and this plot, though.**

* * *

><p>Two vulpine figures knelt in a dark room. It was in a traditional Japanese style, where there were four pillows to kneel down on around a short table. The wall appeared to be made of some kind of wood while the flooring was of a type of bamboo. They sat next to each other in the midst of the night, staring for the longest time, wondering what to say.<p>

The first figure sighed, appearing to look in many other directions. "I don't understand."

"What is there too understand?"

The first figure seemed to look solemnly at the second figure. "Like, why has the Lady ordered to be here?"

The second figure shrugged. "Our job is to do her biding, not ask questions. She did say that a very special guest would be coming upon us tonight, though."

The first figure seemed to scoff. "We're not caretakers. You're very high on the social ladder, being that you are a Rokubi*, and I am a Gobi**. Why do we need to…"

"That is enough!" The second figure cut the other off. "It is because I'm high in this _social ladder, _as you call it, that I've learned where to place my respects. The lady's will is law."

The first figured exhaled heavily once more. "Still, you'd think we'd have sensed this guest by now. What's he going to do? Fall out of the sky?"

Be it a form of jinx, or pure coincidence, they heard a whirring sound that disappeared as quickly as it came. In its place was a voice that screamed, and only got louder, until there was a loud thump outside and a groan.

The figures rushed outside to see something they hadn't expected to see.

"A Kyubi***?"

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**...Syaoron the Fox Presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 8**

**Success or Failure**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Green Hill

February-1-3457

17:30 Mobius Time

There wasn't much to be said. There wasn't anything to be said. They all stared at the huge crater that was a half kilometer in diameter with teary eyes, wondering when this nightmare would be over. The clouds overshadowed once more, leaving a gloomy atmosphere about them.

"No… no…" Shane kept muttering to himself futilely. The deed had been done; the price had been paid.

Following their emotions, they walked back over to the crater, as if hoping they would find the slightest sign of life. To no avail, they searched strenuously through the field of ash at the basin of the crater. Cosmo could stand it no longer and fell to her knees, bawling her eyes out.

He seemed so strong; so invincible. It was hard to believe that he was taken out of their lives, just like that. Even Sonic, the wall that guarded Mobotropolis, crumbled at the hopelessness of the situation.

Tails' body was likely to be ashen, as was everything else in the crater. There hope was like glass, and someone had just shot that hope with a high-energy orbital particle beam.

It was almost unbelievable, that a person who had achieved such a caliber of power had died, just like that, in practically the blink of an eye.

Even through the sadness, Durin swore he heard a noise, like a missile falling. "Everybody, LOOK OUT!" He shouted as a pod fell from the sky. They scattered just before the cylindrical tube fell from the sky. Before their eyes, the pod began transforming.

After a series of mechanical snapping, the pod had transformed into a display screen. The screen blinked on, showing their most hated mad scientist.

"EGGMAN!" They all accused simultaneously. The rotund scientist only chuckled.

"Ah, I see you have received my gift, nuisances." Eggman sadistically stated, laughing all the while. He was met with many a glare.

As everyone else was, Shadow was enraged. "I swear, Eggman! **I will make you pay!**" The black hedgehog cursed at him, with flames metaphorically burning in his eyes.

The obese enemy did not flinch at the threat. "I doubt that."

A vein pulsed on Shadow's forehead. "What was that?"

Eggman sighed. It was still the same old Shadow. "Now, I am going to make demands, and you are going to listen." He ordered.

"I don't care!" Sonic obnoxiously shouted. "We are going to bring you down, tyrant! With…" He gulped, "… or without Tails!"

Eggman remained silent for a moment before bursting into maniacal cackling. "Preposterous! You don't have any means of space travel, and I'm the one with the trigger on my finger.

"Now heed my demands." They all listened impatiently. "The cannon will take another month or so to recharge. You have that amount of time to completely submit to my rule. If not, I will leave Castle Acorn in a mound of ash."

Coral smirked slightly in face of the demands. "You're forgetting that we still have access to the X-Tornado, Tails' _**space operable **_plane."

"_Which_ is currently under government control, due to the fox's banishment." Eggman quickly retorted, bringing a halt to that idea.

It still brought rise to an uneasy subject.

"How did _you_ know that the parliament banished Tails?" Gary pointed out, bringing a frown to Eggman's face. He had a look of guilt about him that might as well have had, "Hey, I'm suspicious," written upon it in bold lettering.

The scientist just stared at the screen in silence as Amy widened her eyes. "You're in league with them, aren't you?"

Eggman remained stoic, until he finally said, "You have about a month," and the screen flickered out.

Out of anger, Ana punched the screen, shattering it. **"Those parliament BACKSTABBERS!" **she screamed to no one in particular.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

G.U.N. HQ

February-18-3457

12:05 Mobius Time

Word of Eggman's threat spread far and wide, quickly. There were already mass panic attacks across the country and the insurrection to deal with, and now they had a threat of mass destruction floating through the air, that could only be prevented if space travel could be acquired.

That issue was about to solved today.

"Epsilon Squad, you are probably wondering why I have gathered you today." A grey wolf in military dress stated. His patch showed five silver stars in a pentagon formation; the symbol of a General of the Army.

Felix turned to face them as he stood on the balcony supervising operations control room. Epsilon squad had grown popular in the past few weeks, being formed hastily, but consisting of only the best. Shadow, the squad leader, stepped forward.

"Yes, General," He confirmed. "Why, exactly, are we here?"

Felix stretched his lips into a smirk and clicked a button on a remote. The large middle screen displayed a pod on the screen, giving its dimensions and the like. The pod was cylindrical in shape, but the edges ha a delicate curvature to it and thinned out near the bottom, making it look like a flat bottomed drill.

"This is a Mark XIV _Temperance _space pod," He explained. "Intel shows that these pods are being used for interstellar travel between an insurrection stronghold and the space station that we have thusly named, the _Sententiam****_."

The screen then zoomed out, showing the insurrectionist stronghold. "This is one of their most fortified bases. In itself, it is practically a fortress. If you are to take out the _Sententiam, _you will need to commandeer at least four of these pods; two people to a pod."

Shadow's ear twitched slightly. "I'm sorry, General, but I don't think I heard you correctly."

Felix raised his eyebrow as Shadow continued. "If my math is right, that means I will only be able to take a squad of eight people, compared to our usual twenty."

General O'Donnell nodded. "You heard correctly, lieutenant Shadow. For an operation like this, you must be small, quick, and stealthy."

Understandingly, Shadow turned to the other nineteen. It was sad that he'd have to extract twelve of them, but it had to be done. "For this operation, I want Sonic, Knuckles, Cosmo, Amy, Rouge, Alexa, and Shane.

"Everyone else… you have been dismissed." Most of them turned back and walked out the double doors, leaving only seven behind. "The seven of you are, dare I say, my _closest _friends."

Everyone either raised an eyebrow or cocked their head to the side. "I've known you the longest, and have worked with you the most. We can coordinate better than if we worked with some of the others, thus, here you stand."

Felix smiled at the feelings he showed. Even Shadow didn't know that those sole words were only able to be spoke by a few lucky commanding officers.

Some people don't come back from war.

O'Donnell nodded at him. "Now, we know that the parliament has had a hand in this, based on what we could extract from the nearly destroyed tape. As such, this operation will be put in the confidential files. I'm sure that this breaks at least five laws somewhere along the lines of politics, but those are little matters."

They nodded toward the General and formed a circle, putting their hands all in a pile. Shadow smirked, stating their motto. "Divided, we fall…"

"BUT, UNITED, WE STAND!" With that, they rushed out the door with new purpose in mind.

Felix turned around once more and made the sign of the cross over his body. _God Speed, Epsilon Squad._

Just outside, the other were gathering for a lunch break and preparing to return home. Glances were shared among them, but no words. Nothing needed to be said.

They were going to succeed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Insurrectionist Base X-Ray

February-19-3457

5:21 Mobius Time

It was Tango Regiment's lunch break, at last. The five members of the patrol squad walked into the cafeteria, awaiting their lunches. After retrieving one bowl of tomato bisque and a foot long submarine sandwich per person, the ferret, mouse, eagle, bear, and bee sat down at a circular table, beginning a pattern of conversation.

"Hey, Shinow, have you ever wondered why we're here?" The ferret asked, revealing her voice to be feminine. She took a bite of her Cuban sandwich and awaited his reply.

Shinow the mouse shrugged nonchalantly in response. "One of the great mysteries, huh? Why _are _we here? Are we the product of some cosmic coincidence; or is there really a god, watching everything? I don't know, Yarima, but it keeps me up at night."

They remained in silence, awkwardly staring at each other for a moment until the silence was broken by Yarima. "No, I meant, why are we here; at this base?" The she-ferret cleared up.

"… oh."

The eagle raised his eyebrow at Shinow and laughed inwardly. "And what was all that stuff about 'God'?"

By this point, Shinow was blushing. He was always screwing up, and everyone always picked on him for it. "Just… nothing, Paul."

The eagle they knew as Paul crossed his arms. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

_Bickering as usual, _the bear thought, while trying to dispel the situation. "So, Conner, I heard you got a call from command."

The bee remained calm and collected and said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did, Aden."

There was another break in the conversation where the members stared at each other, until Aden expectantly asked, "Well, what did command say?"

The bee scrunched his face, trying to remember. "Well, they said, _'this is command. We read you loud and clear.'_"

Paul, impatient as he was, asked, "Alright, what did they say _after_ that?"

"Then they said, _'Roger; over and out.'_"

Shinow crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Before that, or, somewhere in between?" He interrogated. "_Hello_ and _Goodbye _aren't the important parts of this conversation."

"… oh." Conner muttered while trying to remember what they said afterward. "I think they said, _'In fear of an invasion, we are sending you some supplies to improve your defense condition.'_"

"So, they said the cargo would be here…" Yarima stated, drawing out _here _as if to have Conner finish it up.

Conner, idiotic as usual, answered, "Yes."

"No, not _yes_." the ferret corrected. "_When?_"

"When I was on the call with them." the young bee answered, in the wrong yet again.

"I mean _the cargo_."

"No, see, the operator said that."

"WHEN?"

"When I called command. How else would the-"

"Okay, stop!" Paul suddenly said, silencing them. He liked the bee, but sometimes he was too retarded for his own good. The bear massaged his forehead with his paw and inhaled deeply. "How about you guys go through this step by step, okay?"

There was a unanimous nod and the talk began once more. "Okay, Conner; you called command?" Yarima asked.

The bee simply replied with, "Yes."

"And they said they were sending a cargo shipment?"

"Yes."

"To _our _base?"

"Yes."

"When did they say this shipment would be coming?"

This time, Conner put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "Just before they nicknamed me 'Roger'."

Needless to say, Yarima was fuming and flailing her arms angrily through the air. Her OCD mentality was starting to get to her. "GOD… you know what, just forget about it."

Paul reached into his jacket, pulled out a pocket watched, and sighed. Their breaks seemed to be getting shorter. _Maybe our conversations are just getting longer._ "Alright ladies, our break's over. Let's move out."

None too hastily, they each took their treys and emptied the remaining contents in to the nearest garbage can. They migrated over to the barracks and picked up their standard militant load out. Each of them shouldered a Diemaco C8A1 assault rifle and picked out an FN Browning Mark III pistol before moving in V-formation down a hall, doing what they do best; guard patrol. As the leader, Paul was allowed to pick out his personal weapon, a Steyr Tactical Machine Pistol. He popped a fresh magazine into the TMP and returned to his comrades so they could do what they do best; patrol duty.

Walking down the halls, they had a sort of professional air about them. Strutting around corners and into the open grounds around the base, they expertly searched for any possible intruders, as their job dictated.

Over the course of their constitutional, they came across one hallway that seemed utterly too quiet.

Conner drew his pistol ad looked around, trying to find even the slightest notion of a trespasser. His long bee antennae twitched as he detected the patter of movement. He turned about, seeming paranoid, and finally asked, "Hey, did you guys hear something?"

Aden sighed and rolled his eyes. Now was his time for payback. "It's probably the sound of you being an idiot."

Conner's watchful expression was lost and replaced by a downcast look. "Yeah, you're probably right."

The hyperactive bee then pocketed his pistol and returned to the formation. If only they realized how right he was.

In the ventilation corridor above, Knuckles held his breath. It seemed like his heart beat once a minute as time came to a near standstill. It seemed like hours before the patrol finally moved on. It was then that he exhaled and Amy began giggling.

Sonic sighed noticeably from behind Amy. "C'mon, Ames. This is supposed to be a silent operation." He whispered to her as she continued to fight her fits of giggles, to no avail.

When she finally calmed down, Knuckles said, "I'll admit, that was actually pretty funny."

On their hands and knees, Epsilon squad continued to crawl through the confined corridor. Many thoughts passed through their heads while in single file. What if they were caught? What hope was there, then?

While attempting to shrug this off, they all continued to crawl. Another turn here and there made the maze seem to go on forever. "Hey, Cosmo." Alexa called, bringing focus from the vegetal woman. "Are you _sure _your map of the air ducts are accurate?"

Cosmo stopped, halting the rest of the line as she was at the front. She turned to look at the white hedgehog behind her and raised an eyebrow. "Need you _really _ask?" She confidently replied. She then began moving again starting the slinky movement again.

Every now and then, they would pass over a hallway and quiet themselves as much as possible, even stopping at times to make sure the coast was clear.

When they reached the end, they spotted a grate that led into some kind of balcony. Cosmo, with the silence of a mouse, removed the grate. She stepped out and immediately elbowed the guarding Lynx in the back of the neck, rendering him effectively unconscious.

As they stepped out, they looked at the body and admired her ability. "That was pretty brutal." Rouge commented, while Shadow huffed slightly.

"I could've done better." The black hedgehog stated, causing Shane to raise an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure that's something to be proud of, Shadow."

Shadow only shrugged. After their petty talk, they peered out of the glass window that surrounded the balcony and into the open area.

It was a wide area, with large silos in some parts of the room, extending toward the ceiling. "Oh yeah, I think we found our primary objective." Knuckles said while looking at Cosmo. She said nothing, but looked over to Alexa, who blushed slightly.

A second look told them that several guards were posted around the vast open hanger. Shadow nodded to Cosmo, and she nodded back before pulling out her Barrett M82, equipped with thermally enhanced scope. She then took a clip from her waist and looked at the ammunition. There were one hundred black five centimeter needles inside of the case. If the light reflected right, they gleamed with a purple sheen.

_I hope Ana's poison is as effective as she says it is, _She thought as she took apart the gun in seconds. She replaced the firing mechanism with a gas operating mechanism instead, and then pieced the gun back into proper condition.

Rouge sweat dropped as she saw the process. Overkill? Perhaps, but it was just for security.

Shadow counted up the guards and totaled about fifty of them. "How long will it take for this to go about silently?"

Cosmo studied the guards like a hawk. "It will take me some time to determine their pattern of movement, so give me a couple minutes."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

In the midst of the hanger, three soldiers were walking; a leopard, a monkey, and a squirrel. They were your average Abstergo insurrectionists, only joining for extremist and financial purposes. That is what they have always exemplified, at least.

"So, let me get this straight." The monkey clarified. "You lived on… a farm?"

The squirrel meekly nodded. "That's right, Jeff. You spend a lot of time thinking, on the farm. Then, you spend a lot of that time repressing those thoughts."

"And, what kind of thoughts were these, Marvin?"

Marvin shrugged. "You know; the meaning of life, alternate universes; that kind of stuff."

They remained in silence, thinking those thoughts before repressing them. It was time for a subject change, which came in the form of a figure wearing a helmet with a rectangular golden visor and some kind of high-tech olive colored body armor that covered his entire body and running around at insane, but not sonic, speeds.

"Whoa! What was that?" Jeff questioned in awe at the soldier.

The leopard smirked in awe at the soldier. "That was a soldier, wearing the new Mark V Neural Enhancement Body Armor. The neural integration system is allowed to support one _armor ability_ at a time; that one was **Energy Afterburning**. It enhances all of the bodily functions, ten-fold."

The soldier in armor then stopped in front of them, slouching over and appearing exhausted. "… I'm going to go to sleep now." He murmured and almost immediately fainted.

The leopard then sweat dropped. "The issue with that armor ability is that the user experiences a form of _sugar crash _after using it, so the committee is thinking of taking that armor ability off of the production line."

Jeff had a laugh at that. "Phil, at this point, it wouldn't surprise me if everyone started dropping to the floor."

They then stopped walking, noticing that Marvin was lagging behind. "Hey, Marvin, hurry up!" Jeff called to him, but the squirrel just yawned and began staggering until he finally just fell over.

"Jeez, I wasn't speaking literally." Jeff muttered. It was then that Phil flopped to the ground as well.

He grew skeptical at this point, and went over to investigate his body. He was able to find a black needle sticking out of his partner's body before he felt something hit him. Glancing at his shoulder, he noticed a similar needle. His vision began contorting awkwardly and he to fell victim to the poison.

It was only a matter of minutes before more soldiers began falling, starting on the outer rim of the hanger before moving inward. In five minutes, everyone in the room had been sedated.

"Wow… that was pretty awesome." Shane praised Cosmo's marksmanship. She only nodded.

That said, Knuckles struck the glass on the balcony with his fist, shattering it and providing them with a way down.

They landed lightly, not wishing to draw to much attention. They failed in doing so.

As quick as lightning, Knuckles was struck and flown to the side, but when he tried to find his attacker, there was none. The members of Epsilon Squad formed a perimeter around Knuckles, attempting to find this attacker.

Just glancing around, they could find nothing. Then again, Alexa was not just glancing around.

There was a flicker of light distortion, and it seemed to be coming towards them. Taking this as means to an end, she transformed into her wind form, with sky blue fur and dragon wings. Taking her dual Desert Eagles, she fired upon the light distortion.

The invisibility wore out, revealing a soldier wearing white armor with brown detail. The shoulders were very bulky, as was the helmet, which had a large silver visor that extended around the sides of the facial area. Upon the visor was a manually printed skull painting.

"Man, I thought the active camouflage was supposed to hide you!" The soldier in armor complained, before remembering the enemy in front of him. "I don't know how you found me, but you're going to regret messing with me!"

Shadow did not like the cocky attitude of his enemy. It was one thing to be confident, but he was all out arrogant. In response, He pulled a small metal bar from his pocket.

He flowed chaos energy into the bar and it extended into a form of sword. It was as wide as the bar, but it was split down the middle so it looked like prongs. "I think you'll be the one regretting to mess with us."

In a split second, Shadow as behind him. In another split second, the chaos energy sword was through the soldier's body.

He looked down at his bleeding wounds and sighed. "That was anticlimactic." He managed to mutter before passing out from blood loss.

Sonic was still eyeing the sword. "Where'd you get that weapon, Shadow?"

Shadow looked confused before he looked at the sword. "Oh, this? Tails made it for me before he…"

Shadow quieted himself as they held a moment of silence for their deceased friend.

They clambered inside the pods, two per pod. Using the instructions they were given, they activated the pods and soon enough, four rockets were blazing towards the space station.

_We're coming, Eggman, _Shadow thought with malice. _Tails' sacrifice will __**not**__ be in vain!_

* * *

><p>*Rokubi is Japanese. It is normally referred to as a kitsune with six tails.<p>

**Gobi is also Japanese. It is usually referred to as a kitsune with five tails.

***Kyubi is Japanese. It normally refers to a kitsune with nine tails.

****Sententiam is Latin for: Judgment.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Another chapter from yours truly!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that isn't mine, and vice versa.**

* * *

><p>Unknown location<p>

Unknown Date

Unknown Time

In the dark of night, two figures spoke. One was a celestial being with a thousand tails and the other was a Kyubi kitsune. The Kyubi approached the Lady with caution and uncertainty.

"Lady, I have to ask…" The Kyubi spoke, drawing the attention of the Lady.

"What is it, my son?"

The Kyubi remained silent for a moment, looking somewhat nervous. "Am I… am I really all that you say I am?"

The Lady nodded. "Of course. Would I ever deceive you?"

The Kyubi sighed and massaged his temple while he paced the room. "I really am a spirit… aren't I?"

The lady shrugged. "Yes… and no."

The Kyubi raised his eyebrow to the cryptic answer. "What do you mean?"

"You are a kitsune spirit." She explained. "You have the disadvantage of being trapped and bound to a mortal body, however."

He inhaled deeply once more and exhaled after. "I can't possibly have the power to save the world, though."

"And _that's _where you're wrong." She assured him. The Kyubi seemed confused for a moment. "You have more power than the average kitsune, and even the _average_ kitsune has great powers."

The Kyubi nodded as the Lady continued. "Your kitsune training is complete for the most part. From here on out, it's gained from experience."

There was a whir heard from behind the Kyubi. He turned and was met with a swirling pool of color and energy. A sense of foreboding seemed to be emanating from portal.

"It appears that you will be reunited with them quicker than I expected… and in a time of need, if I sense correctly." The Lady mussed as the Kyubi continued to stare at it.

He smirked and said, "Give my regards to Setusa," before jumping into the wormhole, without a second guess.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox Presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 9**

**Instability**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

The Kinetic Orbital Cannon Space Station

February-19-3457

12:07 Mobius Time

They had come. She sighed as she watched the security feeds of the space station. Their worst enemy had finally invaded them on their home front.

A sense of loathing washed over Karen at the sight of them. When she searched the group however, she didn't find the nine-tailed fox that was normally side-by-side with the Seedrian. There was a pit in her stomach as she thought about his death a month ago. What was this feeling?

Was it regret? _Of course it is, _she thought. _I regret that I wasn't the one to send that nuisance to Hell. _

It was regret… wasn't it? She thought hard on it for a while before realizing what it was. "It's pointlessness." She revealed to herself as she continued to look at the team. She wondered what they fought for and came upon an answer.

She always knew that they had something she would never have. They had freedom. The freedom to decision, whereas she was governed by orders. They had something worth fighting for.

She paced her room more, thinking about her position in all of this. "What is my purpose?" She spoke, though no one could listen. Eggman always promised something to her. Was it power? Money?

That's all pointless as well. This dream she had was very much becoming a fear. _What do I have now? _She had lost her only friendship, with Heather. Her black fox tail flicked about in anger. Her only other _companions _were a crazy old man who wanted world domination and a demonic bat who wanted nothing more than to cause other people suffering.

Was it his fault? She was certainly suffering now. The pleasure she once had with this job was lost. She tried finding something good to hang onto, but she had run out of footholds. There was nothing anymore. She looked out the window of her room and saw the ravaged grounds of Mobius.

_What kind of bitter end am I causing?_ She asked in her head. When she looked at the certainty of the situation, she found nothing. She was helping to amount to nothing.

What would world domination bring? Just more suffering, to people like her. _Is this what it feels like to have a hero complex?_

Something snapped inside her. Something just didn't seem right to her any more, like she was out of place. "Maybe I'm not cut out for this." She muttered. "It's about time I found a place to belong."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Meanwhile, in a corridor of the huge station, two Abstergo insurrectionist cats walked through the halls. One of them heard a noise, or so he thought. "Hey, man, did you hear that?" He questioned of his timid partner.

The other cat shook his head. "Nah, man." He was already scared of the alarm that had been set off, let alone that the intruders were the most deadly and thorough forces of the entire Mobian forces.

At the end of the hall, a hole was torn in the wall and a group of eight Mobians came rushing through it. The first cat drew his sidearm and rushed toward them. "What about that? Did you hear _that_?"

"Yeah, okay, I heard it!"

They suddenly stopped in their tracks. One of the intruders was staring right at them, with a piercing glare. The pink hedgehog in a black suit reached for her back and pulled out a weapon of some sorts.

"Hey, I think we're going to need some backup, here!" One of the cats shouted before getting a good look at the weapon. It had a lengthy barrel with a handle atop it, for use of both hands. Underneath it, however, was a blade that curved around to the butt of the weapon.

"Uh, what is that?" the cat asked, terrified. "Is that a rifle? A knife? A knifle?"

The pink hedgehog loaded a couple of large, rounded canisters into it and pulled the trigger of the Type-25 Grenade Launcher twice, releasing two grenades that blew their limbs off and left them in a bloody mess. A blue hedgehog came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Wow, Amy. That was unlike you." Sonic commented, concerned for his wife. Never had she committed such a cold hearted kill on two scared people, enemy or no.

Amy shook her head. "We've all been unlike ourselves as of late."

They said no further words as they ventured down the hallway, taking caution to check corners before rushing out. There was a group of stragglers every now and then that needed to be taken care of, but the infiltration was uneventful for the most part.

They stopped behind a wall for a moment, leaving them with a bit of down time. Rouge walked up to Shadow, a look of concern on her face. "Shadow, what are the means of exfiltration going to be?"

The back hedgehog pondered this for a moment before smirking. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Moving along, they passed through corridor after corridor of the space station, seeming to come to no end. _When did Eggman ever find the time to build this? _Alexa mused while keeping up with the group.

When they finally had made some progress, it was in a direction they didn't want to take.

In front of them was a battalion's worth of troops sitting in a cafeteria, having their lunch. One soldier actually so much as dropped their sandwich at the sight of them. Shane sweat dropped and chuckled nervously. "Whoops! I think we took a wrong turn." He muttered as the soldiers armed themselves and began firing on them.

Thinking fast, they rushed over to table and overturned it while bullets whizzed by. Alexa smacked Shane on the back of the head. "You and your nonchalant comments. You're not Sonic!" She scolded him while he shrunk in response.

Shadow sighed. If he could roll his eyes any further, he'd be rolling his head. "Okay, you two. We didn't come to see who could imitate Sonic the best."

While the remark was snarky, it kept them on track of what they needed to do. That was getting rid of the attacking enemy.

Shane pulled out a UMP .45 submachine gun and turned a knob near the trigger guard. Alexa took notice, and was about question before he pulled his body up from behind cover and fired a couple rounds.

The bullets flew straight and true, hitting two lions in their path. Where the bullets hit, the wounds and surrounding tissue immediately froze, leaving them in a state of panic and restricted movement.

_What would we do without Tails? _Shane mused while checking his weapon.

Sonic pulled out his own weapon, an FN P90, and loaded the elongated magazine through the top. Peering over cover, he sprayed the entire fifty round magazine of 5.7x28mm death dealing projectiles into the enemy, letting soldiers fall and take dirt naps.

Rouge steadied her XM25 air burst grenade launcher and took a couple shots, decimating the front lines with shot after shot of the 25mm grenades.

It was only a matter of time before the soldiers were either dead or had fled the fight.

They noticed the locked door behind them was being cut open, slowly. Tightening their formation, they aimed down at the door.

It was finally cut to the bottom and the door pieces were flown passed them, giving them time to fire at the smoky area behind the door. The insurrectionists fell, leaving only one other left.

He was wearing extremely bulky armor and had a large vat of gasoline on his back. In his two hands was a large flame thrower and the visor on his helmet was painted with a sharks mouth design.

He strode in, ever so slowly, and the barrel of the flamethrower lit up. Knuckles looked from Sonic to the enemy and back to Sonic. "What the heck's up with this guy?"

The said insurrectionist almost immediately started spraying a continuous stream of flames, forcing them to dodge to either side. They hid behind the steel table and tried firing at him, but his armor was just too thick. Alexa could feel the wave of heat as she escaped the stream of flames. "Oh, that's hot!" She exclaimed as she had a matrix moment with the flames, flipping in the air and narrowly dodging the burning gasoline.

Amy was about to fire when she noticed a red oval shaped weapon discharge beneath her, blowing her back to her surprise. The weapon flipped out into the middle of the field and Knuckles took it upon himself to take it.

He dived out into the open, picked up the weapon and quickly fired at the enemy. It released a blue orb of glowing matter at him. The insurrectionist just dodged the incoming projectile as it bounced off the floor.

Knuckles looked baffled as he starred at the weapon. "It bounces? Who designs a gun that bounces? This is the worst gun, ever, of all ti-"

Sonic came just in time to push Knuckles out of the path of his flames. "Stay low." He ordered while rushing back out into the open at supersonic speeds. He got behind the suited Mobian and fired at his gasoline tank.

He could barely let out a gasp as the tank exploded, utterly destroying him.

They turned from the utterly abolished soldier and continued onward. In the eventuality, they reached a door with a see-through disk spinning in front of it. Bits of information flew across it as it floated in front of the door. Cosmo widened her eyes at the mere sight of it. She cocked her head to the side, just to see if it was real. "Wow, is that a holo-lock?"

Shadow gazed at it, particularly interested in it. "That's some pretty advanced technology. You think you can crack it, Rouge?" He requested of the bat girl.

The treasure hunting bat looked at the lock and shrugged. "Should take about a minute." She assured them as she typed away at the holographic screen. "You can give me fifteen seconds."

Out of nowhere, Sonic pulled out a watch and clicked a button, starting the time. As Rouge tacked away at the screen, it slowly turned red. In no time at all, it dissipated, slowly opening the door.

"That was sixteen seconds." Sonic said, smirking while Rouge appeared nonchalant.

"It's faster than you could've done."

When the door opened entirely, it showed an entire army's worth of troops. They knelt behind sand bags and the like, their weapons poised at the door.

"Uh-oh…" Shadow muttered as they took aim.

Shots suddenly rang out and a light appeared. They covered their faces, thinking it was the end. When Sonic opened his eyes to find that he wasn't dead, nor injured for that fact, he looked in front of him to find a dark yellow kitsune wearing a black cloak with the roman numerals IX emblazoned on it in a fiery red.

The most distinctive feature was the fox's nine tails.

Bullets suddenly fell to the floor as the kitsune dropped his arms to his side. He turned his head slightly and smirked. "Did ya' miss me?"

Cosmo had a look of ecstasy on her face as she beamed at the kitsune. "TAILS!" She bellowed at him while diving at him in a crushing hug.

They had their fluffy moment while the army of troops widened their eyes and backed away in fear. One soldier was scared enough to drop his weapon and run from the room.

The clatter of the weapon brought Tails back to reality. He let go of Cosmo and glared at the soldiers, who were pretty much horrified by then.

Tails brought his hands together as if praying, and a ball of swirling yellow, white, and red energy appeared over his head. He then raised one arm up and it lit on fire. He did the same with the other arm, only it charged with electricity instead. All his tails were surrounded by a disturbance, signifying his wind abilities.

He bared his fangs and said, "Say your prayers."

With that, he rushed forward at Mach one. He punched one soldier with his electric arm and the soldier had a violent spasm before collapsing, dead. He then punched another soldier with his flaming arm and the soldier emitted a cry of pain as he began burning.

Tails then smirked. "That was just the warm up, too." He bragged as the soldiers began to regain their composure. They decided that if they were going out, they were going out with a bang.

They began firing in Tails direction, at which he cursed. He tried dodging, but one of the bullets caught his shin, tripping him up. The soldiers began firing at his fallen body, hoping to kill him, and quick. After they had emptied their magazines, they looked at the fox, only to find that he had created a shield out of wind energy.

He stood up and flicked his tails about, throwing blasts of wind at the scurrying insurrectionists. Some of the soldiers that didn't make it were slice open by then deadly blasts of wind, leaving them to bleed to death.

In their feeble attempts to attack, they failed to realize what had become of Tails.

He had gone Jet Stream, opening six of the eight gates and turning his fur blue.

As the soldiers tried to reload under pressure, Tails brought his hands up. Now, instead of doing what a smart person would do and firing on him, they looked at him in curiosity.

Wind energy flowed from his tails as fire and electricity joined the conjunction, soon forming a mass of the different energies.

The soldiers had thought they'd seen enough, but they were already too late. Tails looked at them and smirked. "PARTICULARUM TEMPESTAS!*" He bellowed, releasing a massive wave of the combined energy. In face of its magnitude, the soldiers were burned, electrified, or diced up; leading to a rather painful death any way you slice it. After the storm, he turn his inner inhibiters back on and reverted back to his original state, albeit with a little muscle tearing, but he ignored that.

Of the few soldiers that lived through the massacre, they were running away or curled into a ball, traumatized by the bloodshed that had just occurred. Tails found a soldier that had survived, merely due the Mark V armor. The soldier looked around wearily for his XK-8 rifle, he found it next to him, and began crawling toward it, but Tails stood over him.

The armored soldier glared at him through his visor. "You should be dead." He muttered.

Tails only chuckled and glared at him. "Don't sound so disappointed; you'll make me cry." He remarked sarcastically. "Where's your commanding officer?"

"You mean Karen? How should I know that?"

Tails raised his palm to the soldiers face and charged it with electricity. "Tsk, tsk; wrong answer."

Tails was about to electrocute the soldier before he was knocked to the side by another armored soldier; this time, wearing EOD armor. The helmet had a thin visor and a ninja appearance to it. _Great; two of these enhanced metal heads. _Tails thought disdainfully as he brought his hands up to his face and balled them into fists, preparing to fight.

Unlocking six gates had left too big a strain on his body, thus putting him in a rather disadvantages position. The soldier charged and tried to punch Tails in the face, only to have Tails dodge and elbow him in the back of the head. The EOD soldier tried for a combination of punches, but everything was blocked before Tails applied a side kick to the stomach, sending him flying.

The Mark V soldier had since then gotten up and charged, only to have Tails trip him and elbow his neck as well. _They're just a bunch of amateurs. _Tails thought as he regained his fighting stance. He looked at where they'd gone, but he realized that he could no longer see them.

Swishing his head about, he tried to pin-point their location, but failed to find them. Only when he heard a bang behind him and saw Cosmo holding a smoking .44 Magnum revolver against a mass of distortion that turned visible did he notice their invisibility capabilities. The Mark V soldier was bleeding through his open wound and was unconscious due to blood loss.

"I'll have you know that we can hold our own, too." Cosmo stated nonchalantly to him.

He smirked at his girlfriend and whistled. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

"Only about a thousand times." She mused.

The EOD soldier was pissed; being that he was ignored, and rushed forward blindly, thinking he could catch Tails off guard from behind. How wrong he was. Tails merely flicked his tail out and sent an electric pulse through the armor, locking it and holding the soldier in place.

Sonic scanned Tails body up and down and smirked. "Look at you, and your all powerful self." He joked. "Where have you been, bro, and what's up with the new powers?"

Tails looked ever eager to tell his story. "Well, it all started about seven months ago, only month ago in Mobius time…

**[FLASHBACK]**

"Aroo, show some respect!" a six-tailed kitsune scolded a younger, five-tailed kitsune. The Gobi Kitsune shrunk in fear.

"Okay, Setusa! Give me a break!"

**Two kitsune had taken me in after I fell out of the sky. I was surprised with how much respect they treated me with!**

Tails was brought before a palace the next day. For what, he had no clue, but it must've been important if Setusa called it _impromptu_.

The inside of the castle was a marvelous sight to behold. Elaborate curves and engravings were carved into the walls while statues of different kitsune were place along the sides.

After several gates and receiving approval, Tails arrived before the ruler, one which he knew so well.

"Lady!" He shouted in surprise while taking a bow. Many other kitsunes were around; brushing the tail fur of the Lady's many tails. She shook her head again and chuckled.

"Miles, how many times have I told you that you, as all other kitsune are, my son?" She questioned him. "You may dispense with the formalities. We are all family, here in the Kitsune's Domain."

**She told me that they lived in a rift of space and time that was completely separate from our reality. I was told that, to induct my full ability as a kitsune, I would be trained under Setusa…**

**[END FLASHBACK]**

"… The rest is history, besides the fact that I'm a kitsune spirit."

Shane was puzzled by this, to say the least. "So, does that make me… half kitsune?"

Tails nodded. "Yes, but you won't grow extra tails. You have Cosmo's mortal half to thank for that."

Shane appeared to sigh in relief. Everyone else was skeptical, but said nothing of it besides that they were surprised that Tails was alive.

After Tails was debriefed, they made their way through the halls in search of the core reactor. Tails decided to make petty conversation along the way. "So, are you still wearing the training weights?"

Shadow paused for a moment and lowered a sock on his shoe, showing the forty kilogram weight. "Cosmo made us continue wearing them." He stated, though it sounded more like a complaint.

Tails looked closely at the weight and frowned. "I thought you would've moved onto the eighty kilogram weights, by now."

Knuckles, who was nearby, sweat dropped and shuddered.

"C'mon guys, we have to keep moving." Alexa reminded them. She tapped her foot in impatience as the caught up with her.

"Cosmo, check the directory and see if we're going in the right direction." Shadow ordered while peering around, making sure that no enemies appeared. Cosmo reached into her pocket, pulled out a small cylindrical object and pressed a button on it, causing the top to open up and show a holographic directory of the space station.

Tails raised an eyebrow in question. "You have a directory?"

"Yeah, we took it off of one of the troops earlier." Rouge affirmed while checking over the hologram. A small red dot blinked in the midst, showing their position.

After further analyzing, Cosmo new exactly where they were heading. "The core reactor should be on the other side of this wall." She notified them while they gathered around the wall.

Shadow pulled out a square shaped breaching charge and set it on the wall. The button was pressed and they went into the room.

All they saw was massive bloodshed.

All around the floor was a bloody mess. Soldiers were either dead or dying as pools of blood formed throughout the room.

Over at the end of the room was a black fox. She grinned eerily as she typed commands into the core reactor.

It wasn't long before the reactor showed signs of overloading and she turned around, meandering toward them.

Tails, not wishing to face Karen, pulled out chaos emerald. "CHAOS…" before he could finish, Karen put her hand into the group. With nowhere else to store his building chaos energy, Tails finished, "… CONTROL!"

They blipped out of the station, just as it exploded in a violent fiery ball.

They appeared on Green Hill and saw the space station explode. They marveled at the sight before turning their attention too Karen.

She chuckled to herself while she starred at them. "Why did you blow up your own station, Karen?" Shadow growled angrily at her as she continued to chuckle.

"To help you, of course." She reasoned. They were skeptical of this, but she continued. "And, now that I've found you, I want you to help me with something I should've done a long time ago…

"You're going to help me kill Eggman."

* * *

><p>*<em>Particularum Tempestas<em> is Latin. It means _elemental storm_.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hello one and all! I have finally completed this chapter, so please enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I neither own Sega, Archie, nor any of the characters afiliated with them. I do own this plot and my OC's.**

* * *

><p>Unknown location<p>

February-19-3457

17:18 Mobius Time

A screen turned on in the dark room. The screen showed a video feed that depicted the large explosion of the Kinetic Orbital Cannon Space Station. Pieces of the debris flew all around the screen, depicting its utter destruction. The light from the video reflected off of a certain rotund scientist's blue shades as he stared in awe.

Eggman narrowed his eyes at the screen and let out a sigh. "It took me months to construct the individual components of that station." He grieved. He was starting to huff, angry at those who had done it.

"It took me many more weeks to assemble it, too." He muttered. "And they destroyed it in a matter of five hours."

A robotic sigh was heard in the background, causing Eggman to turn his swiveling seat around to face Decoe, a servant bot he made that was human sized with an elongated head. Decoe slumped his shoulders and let his eyes fall to the floor. "I have some, uh, _shocking _news, sir."

Eggman stood from his chair and walked over to him. "And what might that be, Decoe?"

Decoe led him to another monitor and played the recording. It showed the core reactor room with massive pools of blood everywhere. Eggman almost gasped at the sight of it. In the middle of the room were Epsilon squad's infiltrators. Eggman spotted a figure he didn't want to see again.

"Is that Tails?" He shouted in surprise, causing the robot to jump. "I thought I destroyed that rodent when I last fired the cannon!"

"Yes, Doctor." Decoe replied. "He somehow managed to survive the blast, but his body _was _never found.

"That, however, isn't the shocking part of the tape."

Eggman, irritated with his robot, grumbled. "Well, get on with it already!" He barked, causing the robot to jump once more.

"Well, sir, if you'll divert your attention to the top left corner of the screen." The robot suggested, to which Eggman followed. What he saw made his eyes widen even more. There was a black fox, tampering with the operating system of the core power generator.

"Karen!" He shouted while banging his fist against a random piece of machinery. "I swear, you'll rue the day you betrayed me!"

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

…**Syaoron the Fox Presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 10**

**Shaking the Foundation**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Green Hill

February-19-3457

17:20 Mobius Time

All was silent. The wind blew across the hills, flattening the grass and bending the trees before giving some leeway. The sun was low on the horizon, turning more to an orange color as the clouds gained purple and reddish hues.

Epsilon squad stood separate from one person across from them. The Mobian was a black fox in ninja dress and an almost insane smile stretched across her face.

Tails narrowed his brow and stared at her momentarily. "Do you _really _expect us to believe that?" He asked of her while she continued to look at her surroundings. She appeared almost unaware of their presence as she gazed at the hills.

There was more silence with no response. A vein pulsed on Tails' forehead as he awaited an answer. "Well? Are you going to answer me?"

She continued to observe her surroundings, as if ignoring him. She then walked over to a small Mexican Petunia and plucked the flower from its stem.

Tails looked on in question. "What are y-"

"These flowers sure are beautiful, huh?" She cut him off. She continued to marvel at and sniff the Petunia she had plucked and smiled at it. "Isn't it sad that their only purpose is to survive, reproduce, and die?"

Cosmo cocked her head to the side. "I don't follow." She was the botanist of the group, but she had no idea where this was going.

Karen began walking toward them, with an expression of calm and happiness on her face. As she approached, the others backed away. When she came face to face with Tails, she took the flower and put it in his hand. "I mean, isn't it sad that this flower dies after it completes its sole purpose?"

Tails raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand what you're trying to tell us."

Karen then held out her hand and it pulsed with a yellow light. They all gasped at the notion, but Karen kept calm. When the light dissipated, she held a small photo showing her and Heather, partying to their hearts content while Heather held a bottle of booze. "She had a mission to complete." Karen whispered while holding the photo.

She tightened her grip and it became shaky. Her breathing was heavier and she glared at nothing in particular. "And when _she _completed _her _mission, _she _was laid waste to. _She _was discarded, and Eggman did NOTHING!"

She continued to rant and shout about the wrong doings she had been dealt. "_The Doctor _didn't compensate for her. _She _didn't get a funeral, or a memorial. Even though we knew what we were doing was wrong, even in death, she still never got the respect _she _deserved!"

Tails widened his eyes. He felt the same thing once, when Cosmo had died. He was sure that Sonic and Cosmo felt similar when he almost died.

But her best friend wasn't coming back. "I want revenge on Eggman." Karen summed up. "I _will_ kill that monstrous lard ball. If it takes me my entire life, I will make sure that he suffers a very _slow, painful _death."

Taking in the revelation, Tails nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked into his eyes and he looked back, seeing only what he saw in the mirror. Eyes full of pain, full of hatred, and so full of… a want? Yes, that was it. _She wants to be accepted. Just like… me…_

Karen felt arms wrap her in embrace and she looked up to see Tails hugging her, slightly tearing up all the while. He leaned into her ear and her everything became so silent, she could hear her own heartbeat. "I know the feeling. I know what you're going through" Tails whispered to her, embracing her tightly all the while.

She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes through her teary ones. She saw no malice or malicious intent, but rather an opening; an accepting.

Even she was surprised by the offer, even if she was the one who had come begging. She looked down at the flower in her hand and let it go. "But, why?" She muttered, barely audible enough for Tails to comprehend.

The kitsune only smiled. "Because, you may lose your way in life, or your road may become obstructed…" He paused and scuffed a trail of dirt into the hill. Leaves from a nearby tree fell onto the dirt streak, as if on cue. "All it takes is for someone to clear the path." He then swiped his hand and the leaves blew off, leaving the dirt streak clear again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Upon the ending of the conversation and pep talk, they returned to Angel Island, where everyone who hadn't gone on the mission was resting. Explaining the situation to them went without a cinch, though Karen was sure some still resented her, but she would make attempts to come to amends with her sins.

For a successful mission, the return of a friend who was previously missing in action, and the gaining of a new team mate, they decided to host a party. A party that was paid for by Knuckles, of course.

"Can someone explain to me again why _I _have to pay for the party favors?" Knuckles questioned openly, waiting for someone to reply.

Sapphire shuffled over to Knuckles and shrugged. "Probably for some ridiculous reason, like because it's _your _house, or something like that." She replied.

Knuckles looked back at his supposed daughter and raised an eyebrow. Skeptical as he was, he decided to ask, "If you're my daughter, and Julie-Su's gone, then who's the mother?"

She paused in her dancing and grabbed his wrists, twirling him around and bringing him into a slow dance. She rested on his chest and breathed a sigh of comfort. One she hadn't breathed in many years.

"Rouge, of course," she simply answered while continuing to dance with the now shocked echidna. He took a glance in Rouge's direction and smiled.

"I guess I can live with that, if I get to have such a wonderful daughter, like you." He muttered, only loud enough for her to hear, at which she blushed and chuckled. He then leaned into her ear and whispered, "Don't tell your brother I said that."

Hearing this sent her into a fit of giggles that forced her to sit out for a moment. Knuckles sat down at one table for a moment, next to Durin who scooted towards him. "You didn't mean that, did you?" He muttered as Knuckles chuckled.

"Well, I did, but that doesn't exclude you." Knuckles expertly answered, dissolving the conflict. Taking his father's words, Durin left to have a dance with Violet. Knuckles watched his son twirl the purple rabbit about. _He's certainly a better slow dancer than I am, _Knuckles thought.

The song finally decided to change, unveiling _Refugee, _by: _Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. _Alexa thought it ironic that the radio would play this, considering their new team member. The song began after a short guitar intro.

_We got somethin', we both know it,_

_We don't talk too much about it…_

_Ain't no real big secret; all the same,_

_Somehow, we get around it…_

Alexa listened to the melody and an idea popped into his head. He rushed over to Karen and grabbed her by the wrist, attempting to pull her. She resisted, asking, "What are you doing?"

Alexa responded cryptically with, "Helping you heal." She followed her to the front of the room where a microphone sat, and they began singing the chorus in synchronicity.

"_**No baby, you don't… ha-have, to live like a refugee!"**_

Everyone else caught on quick and began singing for the background voice. _"Don't have to live like a refugee…"_

Singing to their hearts content, the song eventually came to an end and the karaoke moment stopped. Afterwards, Karen seemed to open up more, if by just a little.

After the party died down and everyone went to their separate tents outside, Karen walked over to Tails. "Hey, I thought you might want to discuss military Intel." She asked him, to which he responded with a nod. He had almost forgotten that she was an enemy before that day.

"Well, spill the beans." Tails encouraged. "Speak your mind."

Karen nodded and they sat down at the dining room table. "Okay, you know that Eggmans army is comprised of Mobians and robots, right?"

Tails almost rolled his eyes. "I've put down enough of both sentient and non-sentient beings. How could I not?"

"Well, Eggman has started a program called _Norse_ that will involve augmented soldiers wearing neural-integrated armor systems."

Tails was slightly taken aback. He gave her a skeptical look for a moment before replying, "Well, I took down two of these _super soldiers_, so they can't be that bad."

"That's because they were only in the _Beta _stage."

The kitsune gritted his teeth. "Is that so?"

Karen nodded. "Yes. Right now, the armor is not up to its full potential and the candidate soldiers haven't been augmented."

"I knew it was too easy to be true."

"Well, let's look on the bright side." She reached through her tail, as if looking for something. "I just happen to have a list of fortresses that Eggman could be hiding at." She smirked as she said that, pulling out a small flash drive and waving it in front of vulpine.

He looked in awe at the small memory stick that could very much help win the war and smiled in glee. "You said he had multiple bases, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, but I'm _sure_ we're smart enough to deduce which one he's hiding at."

"That sounded condescending."

"I know, because, and I mean no foul, some of your friends' intelligence is…"

"At a level of high stupidity?"

"Well, I was going to say 'below average', but that works too."

Tails sighed and snatched the flash drive from her hands at lightning speed. She felt the wind, and squeezed her hand to find nothing there. "Let's at least _try _to stay on topic, okay?" He requested while tossing the memory stick around.

He walked over to a desk and turned on the nearby laptop, inserting the drive once it had loaded. What he was given was very shocking to say the least.

"This is…"

"A detailed, 3-D map of all four bases." Karen cut him off while taking control of the computer. She scrolled around the area of one compound. "It gives you your opposition, what the guards are equipped with, paths of patrolling, everything you'd need to know… except the location of the kitchen sink."

Tails raised his eyebrow. "Why would we need to know where the kitchen sink is?"

"Haven't you ever heard of that exaggerated phrase 'throwing everything but the kitchen sink'?"

"No."

"Well, never mind then."

Tails then extracted the cartridge and stuffed it into his tail fur. "I'm going to have to show the General this." He mused while imagining his reaction. He then went outside, to join Cosmo in their tent. Alexa followed along and went into her own tent, deciding to catch some shuteye as well.

She smirked as she lied down on her sleeping bag. _Oh, you're in a load of trouble when Tails gets a hold of you, Eggman._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Parliament Conference Room

February-19-3457

19:38 Mobius Time

There was an air about the room. It just seemed utterly uncomfortable, as if the room had suddenly been deprived of oxygen. The parliament glared at nothing in particular, but a person to glare at came across their minds.

"I can't believe it…" Jeremy muttered in disgust. The rat was not in a good mood, as none of the others were. The other members along the circular table nodded in agreement.

"Who'd have thought that after all this time, after all our efforts… _he _is still alive." Persepolis spoke with malice, enticing the others all the while.

"This fox is obviously more of a threat than we perceived." Gerard proclaimed, to which he was met with 'here, here'.

Lucifer Walrus motioned over to the crow. "So, do you have any possible solutions, Gerard?"

Gerard sighed. "Only one," he said as he stood up. "It has come to my attention that we will no longer be able to help Eggman while keeping ourselves undercover. I propose that we merely hire professional snipers to take him out."

They all nodded heads before they heard a chuckle from nowhere. "A good plan, indeed. Too bad you won't be able to carry it out." The feminine voice called out.

A white cloud suddenly began forming in the room. "A smoke screen?" Juliet commented while watching the cloud of dust.

When the cloud dissipated, Queen Sally stood there, wearing her original Freedom Fighter attire, consisting of her blue jacket and teal boots. Behind her stood Lynx soldiers, each wearing black military clothing and a patch with an eagle holding arrows in one talon and poles in the other. The elite soldiers of Seal Team 6 had hand cuffs in one hand and an HKP9 pistol in the other.

"For treason and conspiracy, with the lawful powers I've been given, we are here to arrest you." Sally stated overdramatically.

One of the lynxes sweated and glanced in her direction. "Your majesty, this is a military operation, not a soap opera."

Sally shrugged as the parliament submitted themselves to arrest.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The Master Emerald Alter, Angel Island

February-20-3457

6:09 Mobius Time

"TAILS, TAILS, TAILS! WAKE UP!" A voice yelled at him. He rolled around in his sleeping bag and put the pillow over his head.

"I'm not awake yet." He muttered sleepily. "Come back in half an hour."

He felt the pillow being pulled from his grasp as he was forced to look at the grey colors of his tent and the green colors of his girlfriend. "No Tails, this is really important!" She reasoned, to which he groaned.

"Reason enough to get me out of bed at… what time is it?"

"It's 6:10, why?"

"… I slept in…"

Cosmo almost fell over dramatically at that. "Well, c'mon! The parliament has just been arrested for treason and conspiracy."

Tails twitched his ears and immediately stood up. "You're kidding, right?"

She sighed. "I'm kidding, wrong!"

They rushed inside the house to the TV which everyone was crowded around. They looked at the news report as it was streamed, live.

It showed the Jeremy, Persepolis, Gerard, Juliet, and Lucifer all being led into the heavy confinement. The reporter, a female pink fox wearing a red trench coat, spoke, "Earlier, last night, the parliament members were arrested for treason, conspiracy, and possible murder. Apparently, Queen Sally led five members of Seal Team 6 to their meeting place and caught them red handed."

Tails smirked. _Way to go, Sally._

"The Parliament has also made the decision to banish Miles 'Tails' Prower. Due the unlawfulness of their authority, his sentence is being lifted, much to the discomfort of the populace." In the background, some Mobians had formed mobs, protesting against the act. Tails frowned at them as his fur flashed black for a split second.

"I believe I've seen enough." Tails said with a smirk as he walked towards the door.

Cosmo followed behind him. "Where are you going, fuzz ball?"

Tails reached into one of his tails and pulled out his red chaos emerald. "I'm going to confront the parliament." He said before vanishing in a blip of light.

He reappeared seconds later next to Sally, who jumped a bit at his coming. "Oh, Tails! You surprised me!" She gasped.

Tails shrugged. "That tends to happen with chaos control." He commented.

Mobbing Mobians who noticed him started insulting and screaming at him. Tails just glared back, his eyes flashing red for a moment, silencing the crowd.

"Hey, at least you're free." Sally said, trying to sound optimistic.

Tails just glared at the confinement building. "The parliament is the least of my worries."

Sally noticed and sighed. "You still don't forgive them for banishing you?"

Tails shook his head. "You don't understand, Sally." He muttered. "Two of those members created me; nurtured me… abandoned me."

His eyes flashed red again, and this time, Sally took notice. "Tails, what a-"

"I'm going to talk to them." Tails cut her off, walking towards the prison with a look of absolute hate on his face.

He nodded at the soldiers in front of the building, who nodded back and stood aside. _I'll have to thank the military for sticking on my side, _Tails reminded himself while continuing into the large building.

In the back was a fairly large, bared room, easily able to fit a standard living room. The members of parliament stood on the other side while two soldiers stood outside. He nodded at them and they let him into the confinement area.

They all glared at him as he entered. Tails gazed around the room, glaring as well. He then set his gaze on Jeremy, who jumped a bit. "What did you get?"

Jeremy cocked his head to the side. "I beg your pardon?"

"What did you get?" Tails rephrased as he walked toward him. "What did Eggman promise you? Power? Or maybe it was money?"

Jeremy shook his head. "A combination of the two. We did it for purely scientific reasons, but we could've potentially made our own army with the results."

Tails scoffed and turned his head. "You disgust me." When he turned back, his eyes were a fierce blood-red. "Well, that's your reason, as well as Gerard's, so what about you three?" He pointed at Persepolis, Lucifer, and Juliet.

None of them answered. They merely shuffled their feet and looked at the ground. Tails nodded and said, "So that's how it is, huh?"

He stepped forward and laughed. "Well look at your sorry selves now." He told them. "You've lost everything. You have neither more money nor the political power you once had. Heck, you don't even have your rights any more. All because you were _greedy_."

Tails continued to glare them. There was no forgiveness in his eyes; only hate and rage. "It is _your_ fault that so many of my friends have suffered." They all jumped back at the accusation as Tails began to slowly walk towards them.

"Do you even _remember _Julie-Su?" His sudden question confused them as they continued to back themselves into the wall, keeping silent.

Tails huffed and rushed forward, grabbing Jeremy by the neck and slamming him into the wall. "Well? DO YOU?"

Jeremy, fearing for his life, quickly answered, "You mean that pink echidna girl about a year ago?"

Tails nodded and let him down. He continued to pace the room, letting his anger steadily rise. "It's your entire fault that she's dead." He accused them. "She had a life to live out. She wanted grow old ad have kids! SHE WANTED TO LIVE!"

He noticed that he was letting his rants get out of control and he immediately calmed down. The zebra guard at the door turned to him, asking, "Will you be okay, Miles?"

Tails only nodded and the guard turned back to his position. "Well, look at where all your efforts have landed you."

He smiled in a fearsome fashion as he continued to glare. "Out of here, you might have had the protection of your body guards, but in here, _I_ control _you_."

He walked over to Persepolis and felt across her feather cheek. "Look at you; you're trembling. Tell you what; if you can honestly ask for a forgiveness of your sins, I'll let you go."

He then teleported away and came back an instant later, with Gary in tow. "He's very good at telling deceit from honesty, if you wanted to know."

Persepolis collapsed on her knees, with tears in her eyes and her hands clasped together. She lowered her head in shame as she said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know what I was getting into! Can you please forgive me?"

Gary put his hands to her head and his eyes turned to a ghostly green color. After a few moments of silence, he took his hands off and smiled softly. "Your sins have been forgiven, go in peace."

Tails walked over to the guards and whispered something to him. The zebra widened his, but let Persepolis out anyway. "You will go to Queen Sally." Tails instructed her. "Ask for her forgiveness and tell her I sent you."

After a few more minutes passed, and more forgiving was done, the only two left in the cage were Jeremy and Gerard. "I think that will be enough, Gary." Tails told him, to which the purple hedgehog nodded and took his leave.

Once he had left, Tails' glare returned to his face. "Now, what am I going to do with you two?"

He flicked his hand out and let blood be drawn from Jeremy's cheek. "Maybe I'll just make you bleed and let you rot."

He then rushed forward and snap kicked Gerard's leg, instantly breaking it. "Maybe I'll do worse before I let you die."

Another flash appeared in the room, revealing Shadow. Tails glared at him slightly as he strode forward. "Well Shadow, have you come to give me some kind of speech and tell me that revenge will get me nowhere?"

Shadow looked at him blankly and nonchalantly shrugged. "Well, I was actually going to watch the show, but if you want a speech then go find Sonic."

Tails only smirked. He then directed his focus to the guards at the door. "You two might want to leave." He suggested. They understood and left without further ado.

Tails then let himself go and transformed. His fur turned black and his aura turned the same color as his red eyes. He slowly strode forward, with images of torture in mind.

They walking guards shuddered and continued on, hoping they wouldn't have nightmares about this. They could still hear their futile screams of terror and pain as they exited the door.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Here is another long chapter! It's coming to its closing, so expect less often updates, but more epic fight scenes!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is rightfully Sega's or Archie's. I do, however, own all of my OC's. Alexa and Melodi are the OC's of _Alexa the Hedgehog._**

* * *

><p>Confinement Building 3-F<p>

February-24-3457

12:31 Mobius Time

A jaguar walked down one of the dank hallways of Confinement Building 3-F, or as he liked to call it, 'The Slammer'. In one hand was a mop, and in the other was a pail. He sighed as he reported for the janitorial duty he had been assigned by the 'Master Sergeant', as his penguin boss liked to call himself.

_Okay Jim, you're cleaning the last hallway in the back today, _'Master Sergeant' Frank had told him. He knew which one the back hallway was. He was always assigned the dirtiest hallway, or that's how he felt about it. This particular hallway was always full of rowdy inmates, just to make matters worse.

Accompanying him was Private First Class Anderson Smith, merely for protection purposes of course, in the case of a riot. He turned toward his feline partner and chuckled. "So, how've you been, Andersmith?" He mocked him while continuing to mop down the hallway.

'Andersmith' growled at him and shook his head. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Well, the names 'Anderson' and 'Smith' are boring and average. 'Andersmith' just seems cooler and unique."

Anderson rolled his eyes. They were coming upon the area where the inmates were, so he pulled out his Walther PPK pistol. Granted, it shot rubber bullets, but it was still intimidating. "Alright lobs*, don't make any bad moves on us or I'll… shoot?"

All of the inmates were completely silent, cowering in the back of their cell. They appeared to be mortified or traumatized by something they had seen. "Wow, would you look at that?" Jim mussed while mopping down the floors.

"What do you think they're so afraid of?"

A jaguar in typical orange prisoner clothing ran up to the bars, got on his knees, and… begged? "Please!" he pleaded while crying hysterically. "Let me out! He came and killed them and soon he'll be after us!"

Anderson looked at the bawling soldier and rolled his eyes. "Who's _he_?"

The inmate shook his head. "I don't remember. All I know is that he came a couple days ago when they were moving in the Parliament members. God, their screams were bone chilling!"

Jim raised an eyebrow. "Wait, the parliament was arrested?"

Anderson stared at him with a blank face. "Wait, you mean you _didn't_ know? They were marked guilty of treason and conspiracy four days ago. Supposedly, three of them were released the day they were captured."

"But, if that's so, then what about the other two?"

There was a moment silence as they slowly came to terms with what had happened. "Oh God." Anderson muttered as he ran down to the end of the hall.

Jim hobbled along with his pail and mop handy. "Wait up!" He called out to him while coming along. What he saw almost made him drop his bucket.

The white walls of the containment area were stained with blood. In the center of the room were the two members of parliament that hadn't been released. Their corpses were heavily mutilated, hardly resembling the species of bird and rodent they once were.

On the walls, written in their blood was the phrase, '_Sic Semper Tyrannis'**_.

Jim sighed and made the sign of the cross over his body, giving a short prayer for them. He then groaned and began sweeping his mop across the floor. "Ugh, bloodstains are the hardest to get rid of, too."

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>When faced with extinction, every option is preferable" – Dr. Leonard Church.<strong>_

* * *

><p>…<strong>Syaoron the Fox Presents…<strong>

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 11**

**The Siege**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Okala Canyon

February-24-3457

13:08 Mobius Time

An entire battalion's worth of V-22 Osprey's flew into the canyon below. Each was filled to the brim with AFOM soldiers, loaded for bear and ready to raise hell. The standard load out was an Armalite AR-18 assault rifle and two Ingram MAC10 machine pistols. They were not going to let Eggman escape this fight alive.

In the Osprey that was code named 'The Lightning', Tails and the rest of Epsilon squad were loading up, each with their own personalized weapons.

"Tails, are you sure this is the base Eggman's at?" Alexa asked in the direction of the cockpit.

Tails shook his head. "Karen, explain." He ordered the black vixen as he focused on his flying. Karen shrugged and looked toward Alexa.

"Don't worry. With Melodi's strategic genius, Tails' logic, and my inner knowledge, combined with satellite imager-"

"Okay, okay!" Sonic stressed. "All we wanted to know was if he was sure. I didn't need an entire science class."

Karen blushed as she diverted her eyes. Melodi looked at Karen and cocked her head. "Where are your weapons, Karen?" She asked, drawing Karen out of her momentary trance.

"Don't you remember? I can use chaos control to teleport weapons from anywhere."

Melodi nodded. "Oh yeah... Show off."

Karen only chuckled. "What about you Knuckles? Can you really carry that thing?"

Knuckles only smirked as he hefted up his M134 'Death Machine'. It had six rotating barrels, feeding off of a box of bullets strapped to his waist. "What, this light weight? It's like a feather."

The black vixen shook her head and brought her hand to her temple, massaging it. "Show off." She muttered under her breath.

"Alright guys, no more showing off." Shane interrupted them. "Tails, are we landing soon?"

Tails' voice came on over the intercom. "Yes, we are. The fortress is at the mouth of the canyon. Shadow, Sam, start spinning up the Vulcan mini-guns."

Shadow and Sam huffed to affirm, opening the side doors and sitting down at the gunner position. They pressed and held one of the buttons, allowing the barrels to rotate, becoming a blur in a matter of seconds.

As they came upon the fortress, Tails stared in awe. It was a heavily fortified dome shaped compound. Robots aligned the windows of the compound, operating mounted Browning M1919A1 Anti-Air LMGs. As they came within firing range, Tails bellowed orders over his radio, sending the accompanying Ospreys into frenzy.

"The time is now, guys!" Tails shouted over the intercom as her evaded machine gun fire. "Spin 'em up!"

Shadow and Sam took pleasure and pressed the second button on the Vulcan mini-guns, sending a flurry of explosive rounds into the walls of the compound. While it did little against the walls, it decimated the robots in the windows.

There was an explosion heard from outside of their Osprey and a call came in on the speaker. "We're hit!" the distress signal shouted. "I repeat, 'Thunder' is hit! I'm making an emergency landing!"

Tails noticed one of the Ospreys with a flaming tail rudder. It rose to the top of the canyon and let the soldiers out on the cliff edges. Tails nodded in their general direction. "Roger Thunder. Provide over watch with your snipers while you wait for extraction."

"Sure thing, 'Lightning'; over and out."

Tails returned his attention to the battlefield and smirked. Their blitzkrieg had taken them completely by surprise, leaving the remainder of the robots to fall back. Tails noticed that these were different robots. They seemed to be slim and Mobian sized; very much unlike many of Eggman's previous models.

Tails shrugged, thinking that he could come up with a name later as the Ospreys began landing at the front door. While the other pilots took off, Tails abandoned his Osprey while his friends followed. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Mobians stormed the base, ready to finish off this war, once and for all.

Many of them wouldn't get that luxury.

As soon as they rushed in through the sliding door, automated turrets activated themselves. The turrets aimed in their direction and took fire.

Many of the soldiers were caught in the fire before Violet came in. She transformed her body into metal and took mere jabs at the turrets, rendering them dented and useless.

Durin walked in, holding his TAR-21 in arresting position. He shook his head at Violet and said, "Look at you and your metallic self."

The purple rabbit rolled her eyes in response. "Let's just check on the wounded." The wounded were in none too good a position.

Those who survived the barrage of bullets were being treated by medics so the assault. Blood began to pool in small areas around the wounded. Cosmo and Cream certainly had their work cut out for them. The dead had a quick prayer said for them before the wounded were attended.

Amy walked up to Sonic with a look of dread about her face. "The casualties are pretty bad, Sonic." She told him as he looked at the room they were all in.

He nodded his head in understanding as he walked down the hall. He noticed that it forked into three separate paths and walked back to Tails. "Yo Tails, I'm going to scout down the hallway, okay?"

Tails nodded and handed him two small suppressors which Sonic attached to his MAC 10s. "Remember Sonic, this is going to have to be a team effort. Try _not _to engage in combat."

"Yeah, yeah; stop worrying. Don't you know who you're talking to?"

"Yes, that's _why_ I'm worrying."

Sonic face palmed and turned towards the hall. "Whatever." He muttered before running off.

Rouge rolled her eyes as she watched him run off at supersonic speeds. "He's going to get himself killed, one of these days."

Tails sighed and nodded. "He's not fooling anyone with that."

Knuckles slung his M134 on his back and called over to Cosmo to check out another inured person. "There are just too many people dying nowadays." Knuckles stated while wandering off.

"Ain't that the truth." Cosmo responded while healing the soldier.

Tails made his way over to Ana and Andy, requesting that they take point guard at the hallway. They only nodded before going off to their post. Ana sighed and said, "Don't you think he's being a little, umm…"

"Paranoid?"

"Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind."

"What did you have in mind?"

"That's not the point."

Andy huffed childishly and drew his USP pistol. "Fine, be that way." He told her while checking down the hallways.

Ana in turn drew her Colt Python revolver. "I've got to admit, I like this gun."

"Yeah, only because it's named after a snake."

Ana rolled her eyes once more and continued to look down the halls. "You'd think Eggman would've sent an immediate response. Where're the robots?"

Andy just shrugged. "That's anyone's guess."

Suddenly, they heard a faint scream in the distance. The shouts of fright grew louder as a blue hedgehog turned the corner and into a hallway, followed by a platoon of robots and insurrectionists.

Tails shook his head. "I thought I told you not to cause trouble!" He scolded the hedgehog while holding his palm out forward.

A quick burst of lightning had momentarily paralyzed the Mobian sized robots, but the other insurrectionists kept coming. "Well, what do we have here?" Knuckles mused while unslinging his M134.

The insurrectionists paused in their path, awed at weapon. "That's a big gun!" the hound up front had commented as Knuckles began spinning up the barrel.

"Yes, it is." Knuckles affirmed. "Now, say hello to my little friend!" He sprayed bullets into the mob, immediately killing or mortally injuring the soldiers.

Knuckles walked toward one of the bleeding survivors and knelt next to him. "Now, would you mind telling us where Eggman is, or do I have to beat the information out of you?"

Fearing the punishment, the panther soldier shuddered and said, "Top floor, last door at the end of the hallway."

Knuckles sighed. "Of course."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'of course'?"

"This is a stereotypical evil lair. The final boss is always either at the very top, or the very bottom."

Coral just shook her head and turned to Tails. "This could get rough, Tails. I would take off your weights if I were you."

Tails nodded and began unstrapping the weights from his limbs. Now free of 1040 kilograms of weight, he stood up and felt as light as a feather.

He took a couple steps, getting used to the feel of walking without weights on. "Well, I'll say that wearing a thousand kilograms gets tiring after a while." He commented while shaking himself out.

Cosmo nodded and took over with commands. "Alright, those who are in a condition to fight, we are moving up!" She barked her orders, getting the soldiers up and running.

They traversed the hallways, looking for an elevator of some sort. Much to everyone's surprise, there was a lack of opposition as they walked through the halls.

Only about two hundred AFOM soldiers remained strong enough to carry on, and they carried on conversation thusly.

Tails frowned at this lack in enemies and he turned to face an orange fox. "Renna, I need you to sense for any kind of enemy on this floor." He requested of her.

"Sure thing, Tails." She answered. "Just take care of my body, would you?" Her eyes glazed over and she began to fall, but was caught by Gary.

Tails noticed and nodded at him. "I see that you care about her." He told Gary, to which the purple hedgehog nodded.

"Yes, we've been going steady for a while now." He answered. Tails just smirked and continued to wait for her to wake up.

A few minutes later, she woke up, blinking her eyes to adjust them. "There's a small force of opposition, just around the corner, guarding an elevator."

Tails raised his eyebrow. "_Only _a small force?"

Renna nodded. "Well, they were wearing some kind of weird armor."

Tails cursed inwardly. _They already started that phase. _"Karen!" He called to the black vixen, who reported in front of him. "Apparently, they already started the final phase in the _Norse _project."

She nodded and appeared to go into deep thought for a moment. After thinking for a moment, she came upon an idea. "How many were there?"

Renna brought her hand to her head and scratched it. She then answered, "I think there were only ten, including the one whose mind I read."

"Okay!" Tails exclaimed quietly, "What's the plan of attack going to be?"

"We could chaos control into the crowd." Shadow said.

Tails shook his head, however. "It's too risky. We don't know the limits of these guys, or their armor abilities, _or _their combat skill, _**or**_-"

"Okay Tails!" Shadow interrupted him. "You already denied my idea. Stop bashing it over the head." Tails just blushed in embarrassment.

"We could use the old 'pizza man' routine." Sonic suggested, to which Tails groaned and shook his head.

"C'mon Sonic, I think Eggman's fallen for that enough times to see it coming."

"Yeah, but he _knows _that we know that he's seen it to many times, so doing something uncharacteristic would alert him." Sonic reasoned. "However, by using normal routine, he'll have expected us to do something out of character, and we'll catch him off guard."

Tails pondered this and said, "Yeah, but maybe he _knows _that we're going to try something characteristic _because _he knew we were going to go through this thought process."

"Well, Tails, I believe we've reached an impasse."

"I couldn't agree more, Sonic."

Sen looked back and forth between the two and raised her hand. Sonic and Tails looked at her and she said, "Okay, I can safely say that I'm lost."

Tails shook his head and held out his hand in front of Gary. "Hey, could I borrow your jacket?"

Gary nodded and took off his white jacket, handing it to the kitsune. "When caught between characteristic and uncharacteristic, Sonic, you always choose the safest option." Tails explained.

He held the jacket out from behind the corner and many bullets immediately filled the trench coat. The bullets stopped after a while, signifying that they had to reload.

"CHARGE!" Tails yelled, and their platoon came out from behind the corridor, shooting at the armored Mobians.

Sadly, the bullets did little to kill these new threats. A feline at the front of Tails' platoon gawked as one of the soldiers rushed him with insane speed and punched him in the gut. Needless to say, the armored hand went right through the cat, and then some.

"Take evasive actions!" Tails shouted while rolling off to the side of the wide hallway. They advance, killing some of the other AFOM soldiers with simple but effective close-combat. It was a massacre, and Tails' army was on the receiving end.

He let out a burst of wind, but it only managed to push the armored soldiers back. They all wore helmets with wide visors; the trademark of Mark-VI armor. Tails knew this armor, inside and out, and figured that the armor ability was overshields.

He inwardly cursed. An overshield was formed with a vast array of energy ports in the armor, each exerting a small amount of energy to divert bullets and other projectiles. He fired a precise needle of energy and the red one's armor gleamed, confirming the presence of his overshield.

However, the overshield could only sustain so many blows before it had overheated and needed to cool down. "Alright, concentrate fire on the yellow one!" Tails bellowed the order and the remaining one hundred soldiers fired at the yellow armored foe.

The energy shield fizzled out and crackled with electricity. The bullets then shredded through the armor, letting the yellow enemy fall as blood leaked from the holes in his armor.

The strategy worked well for six of the others, but when they turned to target the final three, they were gone. Tails gasped and told them, "Stay on your guard! Their using Active Camouflage!"

Active camouflage… the ability to take what's behind you and put it in front of you and vice versa was a great form of stealth, indeed.

"Men, it has been an honor to serve with you." A lizard cried out. "Using the loosest possible definition of _honor _and _serve_."

"Hey man," The cougar whispered back, "If I'm going to die, I may as well be honest. I never respected you, I thought I was better than you this entire time, I think my skills are underappreciated, and I wasted my life knowing you. In a way, I'm sad that I may die, but I'm glad knowing that you probably won't live either."

The lizard looked at the cougar and glared. "Why, you dirty little-"

He never managed to finish his sentence as he was kicked in the head by an invisible force. His head bent in an unnatural way and he died instantly.

They were being torn apart by an enemy they couldn't see and Tails was starting to become paranoid. His nose twitched as he caught the smell of blood. More specifically the blood of one of the dead cougar. It seemed to move, so Tails lunged in the scent's direction and through a punch, connecting it with one of the invisible soldiers.

The blue armored enemy reeled back and grabbed his stomach. Tails took the opportunity to energize his hands and slice through armor like a scalpel through warm butter.

The blue armored soldier couldn't even respond when he was cut up by the wind. Before Tails could recoup, he was hit by an invisible punch. He flew back into a wall and was suddenly pinned by an invisible object.

The invisible object then slumped to the ground as Cosmo stood behind it, holding a Taser out in front of her. The active camo on the soldier fizzed out, showing a black armored soldier.

_Just one more, _Tails thought as he scanned the area for the last person. He noticed a shimmer of disfiguration and he nodded to Sonic, who seemed to notice it as well. The blue speedster grinned and rushed forward, slamming the invisible soldier with his trademark spin-dash.

The soldier's active camo fizzed off, showing that his armor was gold colored.

With the soldiers down for the count, Shane took a quick look at their survivors and saw that it was only them left. "Are you sure it was a good thing to leave Cream with the wounded?"

Violet shrugged. "Somebody's got to heal them."

Tails tried to access the elevator, only to find that he needed an access code for it. He then walked toward keeling gold armored Mobian and held him scruff of his neck. Even though he couldn't see the soldier's eyes as he hoisted him up, he was sure he was petrified with fear.

"How are you able to lift this?" The soldier asked him. "This armor weighs a ton."

Tails shrugged. "Really? I thought it was lighter." Cosmo face palmed in the presence of his bragging. "That's beside the point. What is the access code for that elevator?" The hand he wasn't using to hold up the soldier suddenly crackled with electricity. "If you lie, there will be consequences."

The visor on the soldier's helmet suddenly opened up, revealing the golden retriever inside. "You're not getting anything out of me!" He yelled bravely.

"Cheeky." Tails commented before frowning. "Shadow, could you and the others take point at the corner?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "We already cleared that area."

Tails then glared at the black hedgehog. "Shadow, I _need _to have a _private_ conversation with our _friend_ here." He emphasized, causing Shadow to realize his intentions.

He nodded and gather up the others to 'take point' while Tails stared at the dog. "Now, are you going to tell me?"

The retriever spat in his face as a response. This earned him a glare from Tails. "That was unwise." Tails pointed out. He then charged his hand with electricity and electrocuted him. The constant stream of lightning made the retriever shriek, almost inhumanly. Every fiber of his body was being strained, and the armor was not helping. Tails tortured him like this for a minute before stopping.

The dog continued to cry as he slowly regained control over his muscles. "You… you monster!" The dog shouted at him with all the might he could muster. Tails only glared and electrocuted him again.

"Listen to me!" Tails shouted at him. "Do anything suspicious, and I'll zap you. Refuse to comply and I'll zap you. Say anything I don't like-"

"And you'll zap me." The dog cut him off. "I think I've identified a pattern." This only earned him another bolt of lightning.

"Enough backsassing!" Tails yelled at him, which caused the dog to quiver in fear. "Now, what was the access code again?"

The dog sighed. "The access code is… 'access code'."

Tails raised an eyebrow. "What kind of access code is that? No matter; Shane!" He called his son over and the arctic fox quickly appeared.

"Put 'access code' into the keypad." Tails ordered him. Shane raised an eyebrow before rushing off to input the code. To his surprise, the door actually opened up.

Tails smirked at the opened door. "Well, would you look at that?" He speculated. The armored dog sighed, thinking he would be off the hook.

At the sound of that sigh, Tails turned around and glared at him. "I know what you're thinking." Tails muttered to him. "And, yes, I will let you go."

The dog breathed another sigh until Tails chuckled evilly. "Yes, I'll let you walk freely into the arms of death."

The dog's eyes widened. "NO, WAIT! PLEASE!" He screamed as Tails cranked his electric powers up to max. The soldier's fur started melding onto his skin and his skin began melting off on the inside.

After a minute of the intense torture, the soldier breathed no more and Tails tossed his body to the side. They all stared at him in silence as he walked into the elevator. "A-are you okay, Tails?" Melodi asked him, shocked by the sudden display of cruelty.

"I'm just fine." He replied roughly. "I just need to vent every now and again."

They gather into the elevator and Tails pressed a button for the top floor. As they rose into the compound, Shadow turned to Tails and said, "If venting means killing someone, you must have something serious to vent about, Tails."

The kitsune only nodded. "We've lost so much, because of this megalomaniac." He said. "Today, I'm finally going to bring him to hell."

**[TO BE CONTINUED]**

* * *

><p>*<em>Lob<em> is Police lingo for 'prisoner' or 'inmate'

**_Sic Semper Tyrannis _is Latin. It means "Thus always to tyrants". It is also the state motto of Virginia.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: *groans* This chapter took me WAY to much thinking to write!**

_Sen: Yeah, considering you don't think much to begin with._

**Syaoron: What? Shut up! This is my longest fight scene... of all time! (I own nothing that isn't mine.)**

* * *

><p>Egg Fortress, Floor 1<p>

February-24-3457

14:29 Mobius Time

The young rabbit bustled back and forth, from wounded to wounded. Every time, she would kneel and will the cells to regrow, sealing up the injuries of the soldiers. Now and again she would have to reset a bone or joint, in which case, a snap or pop would be heard, signifying the placement of the limb.

"Olivia!" The twelve year old rabbit called, beckoning a grey dove over to her. "Hand me that wet cloth."

The dove nodded and handed over a cloth that was dampened with water. The doe dabbed her forehead, removing some sweat and cooling her off. "Thank you, Olivia." She told the dove and handed the rag back to her.

"No problem, Cream." Olivia responded as she went to tend to the other soldiers. Cream then went on to one of the other soldiers.

She couldn't see his face, as it was hidden by a helmet. "Sir," she said to get the soldier's attention. He twitched his head in her direction and nodded. "I'm going to need you to remove your helmet so I can check for injuries."

The soldier smirked and took off his helmet, revealing the face of a pale white echidna. Cream gasped slightly, surprised to see him. "Captain Zednanref!" She shouted, shocked to see him. "I thought you were still being treated for trauma."

Zednanref smiled meekly and squinted. "Well, I still am… by their records." He responded. Cream just rolled her eyes.

As she tended to his wounds, she smirked. "Hey, Alex." She addressed him. "Out of curiosity, how old are you?"

"I'm fifteen. Out of curiosity, why do you ask?"

Cream giggled slightly. "For a captain, you're pretty young." She mused while sticking her tongue out at him. "But, that's beside the point. Maybe we could go out once this whole war is over?"

Alex just looked at her with a blank stare. "Are you… asking me out?"

She shrugged. "Well, if that's what you want to call it, then yes."

_SCORE! _Alex thought to himself, though he kept his thoughts well under wrap. "Sure, I don't have a problem with that."

Cream smiled at the acceptance and hugged him. He blushed slightly, but smiled after and hugged her back. They shared this tender moment before they felt… something. A sense of foreboding, perhaps? Whatever it was, it made the fur on their spine stand straight up. They gave each other a look of concern and nodded toward one another. Cream stood up and shouted, "We have to clear out of this base!"

None questioned, and they followed obediently. Those who were incapable of standing were carried out by their peers. Cream gave one last look of concern in the compounds direction before moving out with the troops.

_Good luck, guys… come back alive, _she thought while giving them a silent prayer.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

"_**Keep you in the dark; you know they all pretend…"-The Pretender by: Foo Fighters**_

…**Syaoron the Fox presents…**

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 12**

**Two Sides of the Same Coin**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Egg Fortress, Floor 7

February-24-3457

14:36 Mobius Time

The doors of the elevator slowly slid open, leaving them all in anticipation for their one final conflict with Eggman. They say that history is written by victor. Some history was going to be written today, be there bloodshed or not.

As the sliding doors finally parted, they saw the control room. Eggman sat in at a chair in front of a desk at the end of the room which was full of operating equipment. The room was dark, besides a light that shined upon the elevator entrance and Eggmans desk. He swiveled his chair around and smirked at them.

"It's been a long time since we last met face to face, Sonic." The rotund scientist mused. His expression remained stoic, and void of emotion.

"Cut the banter, doc." The blue hedgehog replied, swiping his hand at the idea. "This is the day that you finally go down for good!"

Eggman then narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry you have to see it that way." He muttered while pushing a button. Four more lights turned on, revealing the Neo Mecha copies of Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails. A bit of buzzing was heard and their eyes blinked on, giving them a red color. They lifted their heads slowly and stared at whom they were copied from.

Their flesh and blood counterparts smirked and prepared for the inevitable battle to come. Rouge, Cosmo, Amy, and Alexa stepped forward. "Do you really think we're going to let you face them alone?" Cosmo muttered. Tails looked back at her and smirked.

"Aren't I glad that you came back?" He told her, while they faced the robots.

Shadow stepped forward with a grin plastered to his face. "Why don't we move this plane of battle to a less restricted field, doctor?" He suggested, to which Eggman only nodded. Shadow pulled out a green chaos emerald and it began glowing intensely. "CHAOS CONTROL!" he shouted, causing them to disappear in a blip of light.

A ways off, at the top of the canyon, they reappeared, ready for battle. They rushed into battle head on, with thoughts of victory in mind.

Shane and his company were about to follow before a pale figure in black dress stopped them. Soul the bat wagged his finger mockingly. "I think it would be very disrespectful to interrupt them, no?" He said while preparing to fight them.

They got into their battle stances, looking at the white bat as if he was crazy. "Do you really think you can take on all of us?" Shane questioned. To his surprise, the white bat shook his head.

He then cackled deeply, staring at them with black eyes. "No…" He began a frightening transformation, his body turning to bluish-grey crystal and his feet completely disappeared, leaving him to levitate. "But, I believe thirteen of me can kill you!" He shouted climactically as his body split into thirteen beings. They each had the same figure as the original, making it impossible to tell them apart.

It was going to be a long day.

The Soul copies rushed forward, attempting to get the upper hand. They came in fast, almost too fast for them to react towards. Using the skills they trained and developed, they dodged the incoming copies and reacted, each with their own unique counter attack.

Shane held out his hand, making it shimmer with pale blue energy as he developed a miniature snow storm. The Soul copies shuddered and put their hands up in front of their faces; a fatal mistake to say the least.

Gary had dashed into them, performing his father's famous spin dash with ease. The copies merely shrugged it off and went back into their battle formation. Blocks and blows were exchanged between the two teams, neither seeming to give any leeway to the opposing. One copy, deciding he could be smart, snuck around them and tip-toed towards Sapphire, who seemed intent on staying out of the action.

By hapless chance, she turned around and saw him, sending her into a frenzy of panic. Stream, hearing her plea, dashed to her assistance, slicing the copy with his swords. He saw blood gush from the copy and smirked. It was only when the gash closed and it stood back up that Stream let his guard down. It stretched its muzzle giving the appearance of a grin and sped forward, giving a devastating blow to the neck, sending him spiraling into the ground, unconscious.

Seeing her savior beaten to the ground with no effort caused Sapphire to stop breathing for a moment. She stared at his motionless body and began to tear up. She was too distracted to see the strike at her neck coming and she dropped to the ground in much the same way.

Karen had chaos controlled a Calico M961A submachine gun into her hands. She loaded the helical magazine into the top and began unloading them at Soul. She knew he couldn't die, but that didn't mean she couldn't make him bleed as much as possible.

The clone she fired at was reeling as it was stuffed full of lead. She knew it would just heal up, but she kept firing, taking her revenge out on this target. She was beginning to run out of ammo, so she dashed back with Shane and pulled a Sterling L2A3 out of nowhere, continuing to fire upon the clones with 9mm Parabellum.

"I don't understand!" Sam shouted as he discharged more electricity, shocking some of the copies. They twitched with the electricity but shrugged off the damage. "How is it that our attacks have no effect?"

He sent out another burst of devastating lightning, causing a small kinetic explosion and a bright burst of light. Dust was flung and they closed their eyes at the sight. When he reopened his eyes, the clone he had attacked wasn't damaged at all.

He groaned as he kept trying to attack, though tiring as it was. He wasn't able to see the clone sneaking up from behind… until Melodi elbowed it in the back of the head. She then picked it up before it could recover and threw it across the battle field, into some other clones. "This is the part where I say 'I've got your back'." She told him while he only smirked.

"What do you want from me, a 'thank you'?" He asked her. His senses came back to him at that moment and he dodged an incoming ball of dark energy. The area behind him was left in a small smoldering pit in wake of the energy ball.

A change in the density of the air alerted him to another sphere of energy and he pulled a matrix, bending backward and letting the ball pass over him by a mere inch. He stood back up and glared at the clone who had lobbed the orb at him. It was preparing another sphere, which Sam prepared to counter with an orb of yellow crackling lightning.

The both fired their energy bombs, creating a large explosion and clearing the area. Sam couldn't react in time and was caught in the blast. He was knocked off of his feet and put on the ground, leaving scathes and burns all over his body. His vision blurred as he tied to stand, but his body refused to allow. He just sat there and saw the clone standing, glaring at him.

He tried to crawl into a standing position but the clone stamped on his hand, resulting in a yelp. The clone picked him up and slammed him into the ground, finishing with a fist to the gut, resulting in a small crater. Sam coughed up blood before his eyes rolled back into his head.

Ana noticed his demise and glared at the clone that had put her energetic ally down. She reached for her hip holster and drew six needles, each held between two fingers. They had this stare down before she began throwing needles at it. The clone merely dodged the first six needles.

She smirked and began drawing more needles at a quickening pace. The clone expertly dodged the needles, countering with small beams of black and purple energy. She was unlucky enough to be caught in one of the concussive blasts and was blown away. She landed in the dirt wearily before she passed out.

The battle was quickly going downhill, but they continued to wipe the blood off their chins, getting on with the fight. Before long, only Shane, Coral, Durin, Violet, Gary, Sen, Karen, and Renna were left standing. They stood, baffled by their opponents ability to get right back up after severe thrashings, only to taunt them.

"Coral, prepare _that move_." He whispered to the seal and she nodded. The others looked at her while she raised her hands. The ground began to rumble and the clones looked around, trying to identify the source of the tremor.

When they realized what it was, it was too late. A torrent of water streamed from seemingly nowhere, swamping them in the fluid. They flowed with the current, disoriented by the massive amount of water

Taking this as his cue, Shane jumped high into the air and crossed his arms over his chest. He began floating and was surrounded by pale blue energy. His eyes flashed white for a second while he began gathering up energy in his hands. "ICE BEAM!" He shouted, shooting down a ray of white. The entire torrent of water froze in place, along with the clones inside.

He dropped back to the ground, landing gracefully, but stumbling afterward. He sat on the icy field, exhausted from using his best attack. _Still, it was worth it, _He thought while sitting. "Great job, Coral." He complemented her. Their combination attack had been executed perfectly.

In the distance, beyond where the icy field covered, he could see the Neo robots clashing with Tails and the others. It looked fairly evenly matched from where he could tell, but he wasn't all too sure.

They had finally beaten him. The one enemy that would take over after Eggman; the one they had been fighting for so long was finally gone. "Amazing job, guys." He commended them. "He's finally go-"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Shane paused at the sound of that cold voice. He turned around and saw him standing, as if he wasn't even hit by the attack. "B-but, I-I…" the arctic fox stuttered, absolutely shocked by his appearance. He stood without a scratch on him.

"I'm immortal, pitiful fox." Soul blatantly put it for him. He floated toward him, all his crystal features evident. They were frozen with fear as he stood right in front of Shane. They stared for a few seconds, neither saying a word.

The grey crystal bat lifted his hand and backhanded Shane. He took the full brunt of the attack, flying back several feet in agony. "SHANE!" Coral shouted while running over to him. She knelt at his side while he clutched his head in pain.

He spat blood out and stood again, only to be shot with a blast of energy. He tumbled back a couple feet and slid on the ice, tainting the ice with his red blood.

Violet came to his aid quickly. She snaked in a couple of steeled punches, confusing Soul. After her short combination, she flipped into the air and slammed her heel into the back of his head. The crystal demon bat face planted in the ground, but didn't bleed.

After a few seconds of silence, he simply stood back up. "But, nothing could withstand a kick like that!" She shouted, obviously surprised by his standing. It appeared that he had no injuries at all, since the beginning of the battle.

"Is it so hard to ingrain into your mortal brain that I am invincible?" He mocked, chuckling all the while. He rushed toward her and knocked her on her back. He then took the three middle fingers of his right hand and placed them on her forehead. They glowed purple and she arched her back, pained from the black magic.

After a minute of this intense torture, her mind shut off, and she was left comatose. He walked over her limp body, amused by her pain. He took one last look at her body before turning toward the injured Shane once more.

"Why do you surround yourself with these idiot weaklings, Syaoron?" Soul asked him. The arctic fox looked back at him with a glare.

"They're not idiots!" He yelled at him through bloody teeth and clogged lungs. "They're my best friends, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise!"

Soul just looked at him and shook his head. "What a pity…" He muttered while gathering dark energy in his left hand. It started to take form over his hand as a swirling sphere of black and purple.

"To think that I would've even considered asking _you _to join me." He mumbled while taking deliberate steps toward him. He took one last lunge, prepared to plunge the energy into his heart, until one being stood in his path.

Gary had withdrawn his katana and diverted Soul's arm off of its original trajectory, keeping it out of harm's way. Soul winced as he felt the katana stab right through his hand. He kneeled, his bleeding hand pinned to the floor and glaring at the purple hedgehog in front of him. Gary tugged the blade out of his hand and the crystal bat stumbled back. Blood dripped from his hand and he looked at it in surprise.

"What did you do?" he muttered in surprise. The gap through his hand wasn't healing, like it normally should've done. **"WHAT DID YOU DO?" **He screamed at Gary, who kept his composure.

He tried looking at the katana. It was nothing special, but something about his enemy had to be. He then noticed his grey eyes and gritted his teeth. He'd never imagined he'd be facing someone such as him. "You have God's power, don't you boy?" He muttered.

Gary only nodded, looking at the cross that was permanently engraved in the back of his right hand. "I owe everything to The Lord."

"Like what?" Soul mocked, while tending to his hand. "What did the _oh-so-powerful _God do for _you_?"

Gary jut smirked. He pulled off his white undershirt and showed his chest. There was a blinking blue dot on his chest and a blinking red dot on each shoulder. He then moved aside his blonde hair to show a blinking white dot on his forehead. "He brought me back to life." He argued. "But, you wouldn't know anything about life, would you?"

Soul continued to grit his teeth. "You are more impressive than you let other people know, boy."

Shane stared up at his friend from the ground, continuing to bleed, even when he had incased his wound in ice. "Gary…" he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. "Don't do it. You don't have t-"

"Yes, I do Shane." Gary cut him off. He then sheathed his katana and crossed his hands over his chest. He began glowing with a white aura and his eyes lost their color.

Soul smirked and took this as a chance to attack. He rushed forward and lunged forward for a kick, but was dispelled by a shield of white. He was puzzled by the shield before he attempted making more strikes at the bubble shield, unable to break it. He then charged up a ball of black and purple energy and unleashed it at the shield, sending hundreds of rapidly firing dark energy beams at the shield, yet it still held together.

"Renna." He spoke in an echoic voice. The orange fox perked up at his calling. "Hold him down for me, would you?"

She nodded and let her eyes glow green. She then sent out a psychokinetic wave and forced Soul on his back. She then put her hands on the ground and they began glowing green, signifying that she had him in her grasp.

She felt him fight against it, but she continued to hold fast, keeping him under her control.

Gary smiled and began to prepare for his final attack. He began to float in the air and a hazy white liquid began coming from the blinking dots on his body. Eventually he was surrounded in a bubble of the hazy liquid.

He reached his hand forward and a claw made from the liquid reached out and grabbed Soul. He felt a stinging sensation from the liquid, and could only imagine the pain he would feel in the bubble. He tried to grasp at the dirt, but he only left small marks as he was pulled into the bubble. He tried ignoring the sensation as he floated directly in front of Gary.

He found that he was incapable movement in the bubble and was completely victim to whatever Gary and in store for him. Gary then reached toward him with both hands and he put them on Soul's chest and forehead.

His body then began dissipating into light and he transformed into a bubble of floating light. It burned Soul to look at the light apparition as he remained trapped in the bubble. The light then floated to his heart and he let out an ear splitting scream of pure pain.

There was a hole of light in his heart that caused him this agony and the hazy liquid began draining into Soul body through the hole of light. He felt as if he was being stabbed constantly in his body as the liquid continued to drain into his body.

After the entire bubble had disappeared into his body, he fell to the ground. Shane and Coral looked at him, wondering if he was finally finished; if he had finally died.

Their hopes were crushed as Soul began standing up again. He laughed psychotically as he stared at them with eyes of insanity. "What did your little friend think he could do by killing himself?" He shouted while cackling.

All of a sudden, he stopped cackling and his eyes widened in fear. His irises were flashing between black and grey and he emitted another ear shattering scream. He clutched at his head and fell to his knees, wondering what the sudden pain was.

He was emitting a black fog from his body as he continued to cry out in anguish. The crystals on his body began cracking and eventually broke off. After a mass of black fog equivalent to the size of his body left him, he fell to the ground and the fog began to shine with a white light from the inside. The black fog slowly purified into white fog and Gary appeared inside of the cloud.

Shane gasped at his coming as he bit back tears. "But, Gary… I thought you said your…"

"Yes, Shane." Gary cut him off. "My exorcism technique is fatal to me, but it is a little cost, knowing that he is finally gone.

"He was a demon from the very beginning." He continued to explain while looking down at his body. "It's sad that he can't live with a non-demonic spirit, but he was too far gone. At least he will be given a fair trial by God, and the words of the devil no longer plague his mind."

Renna was on the verge of tears as well. She walked up to his foggy figure and felt him hand. It felt real enough and she gripped him in a hug. "Please… PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" She shouted, letting her tears flow freely.

Gary hugged her back as she completely broke down. "I'm afraid that's impossible, Renna." He told her. She just continued to hug him. He suddenly became completely transparent and she fell right through him. She just bawled there as Gary's figure completely disappeared from reality.

After the tears completely left her eyes, she crawled and stumbled into a standing position. She took one last look at the fog before it disappeared. She then shifted her vision to Soul's empty corpse and narrowed her eyes.

She walked over to his body, continuing to stare at it in silence. It was _his _fault that he was gone. Karen walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. The orange fox almost immediately dived in her and hugged her, crying her eyes into Karen's shoulder.

Karen looked back over to Shane with concern in her eyes. "Hey, Shane." He called out to him. He swished his head around toward her. "Let's go care for the others."

He nodded and clenched his fist. He began to envision victory; the feeling of triumph. _Your sacrifice will not be in vain, Gary, _He thought. _We will win._


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I uploaded early! This is it; the final chapter of Tribulations! This story has had a long run in the coming, and I'll be sad to not be working on this any longer, but it was fun while it lasted. Loved it? Didn't like it? Please R&R!**

* * *

><p><strong>[…Just Before Shane and Co.'s Battle with Soul…]<strong>

Atop Ocala Canyon

February-24-3457

15:14 Mobius Time

Dust blew across the plain. There was an eerie silence as the sun shown down upon the scene at Ocala Canyon. Tufts of grass quivered in the gust as the separate forces stood apart from each other. They glared at each other as the wind swept across their faces.

They gave each other pure looks of hate, wishing for nothing more than to be the victor, but that was yet to be decided. It would be decided here; on the blood of their family; on the blood of their ancestors; on the blood of their friends.

It would be decided now.

Eight figures from the larger group charged at the smaller group of four mechanized war machines. A blue hedgehog from the group of eight lunged at one of the mechanized monsters, shouting, "FOR MOBIUS!"

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>In peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons."-Frank Huzur<strong>_

* * *

><p>…<strong>Syaoron the Fox presents…<strong>

…**The Third in the Series…**

**The Mobius Code**

**Tribulations**

**Chapter 13**

**The Moment to Live; the Moment to Die**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Sonic attempted a punch at Metal Sonic, but the robot merely grabbed his hand and contorted it, bringing the hedgehog to his knees. He moaned in aching pain till Amy came in, flailing her classic Piko-Piko hammer into the robots steel face, knocking him back a few feet.

He then dashed forward and curled into a spin-dash, catching the robot off guard and making him stumble back. Otherwise, it seemed unharmed.

It would've shocked him if he hadn't faced this robot before. He knew that this robot was designed to know its copy's every weakness, countering it and resisting with necessary force. It was truly a robot to be reckoned with, but they all knew that.

Tails was facing his copy, wondering for a moment how Eggman was able to copy down all his powers into an artificial intelligence system. He shot a beam of wind at the robot, but it reacted with speed similar to Tails', dodging to the side.

If this robot moved any more fluidly, it would've been almost real. He dashed forward and tried to punch Neo Mecha Tails, but it put up a block. He smirked and they went into a combination of punches and blocks that was impossible to see. All they were was a blur as they manifested their focus to try and hit each other.

Cosmo was aiming with her Barrett M82 from the back, but she couldn't get a clear shot, at the speed they were going.

"Watch your head!" A voice shouted to Tails, and he ducked on instinct. Knuckles came flying forward, fists barred. He planted a firm spiked punch into the robot's face and sent it flying.

"Thanks Knux." Tails told him while he continued to stay battle ready. Instincts told him of an approaching enemy from behind and he flicked his tail out behind him, landing a fiery blow to the Mecha Knuckles bot.

The metal copy of the hardheaded red echidna stood back up, apparently heat resistant. It then swung a fist forward and Tails dodged it. He didn't, however, dodge the blast of lightning from behind. The Metal Tails was back on its feet, hands charged with whizzing electrons.

Tails' body twitched with the electricity, and he was unprepared for the right hook the Metal Knuckles landed on him. He spiraled in the air for a distance before landing unceremoniously in the dirt.

He shook his head and stood back up, trying to clear his vision. Another blast of air hit him unexpectedly, leaving a large gash across his chest. He grunted at the pain and shrugged it off. Metal Knuckles was about to land another sucker punch on him, but its flesh counterpart launched into the robot's side, knocking it off of its path.

Tails nodded to Knuckles as he rushed forward, meeting Metal Tails in a confrontation. He charged his arms with electricity and performed multiple strikes on the bot, which were dodged with great aptitude. Tails then smirked and jumped in the air, distracting the bot from Knuckles, who charged into the robot with a fierce flying side kick.

Tails then repositioned his body in the air and crossed his arms over his chest, charging them with electricity. Opening the first gate and becoming Gale Tails, he forced his arms down, sending down burst of lightning bolts upon the Metal Tails.

The robot looked back up and reacted with breakneck speed, sending up a thunderstorm to match it, causing multiple kinetic explosions in the air. Tails landed, having not landed a single blow on his enemy.

He took a chance glance toward his right and immediately back flipped, letting Shadow fly through in response to the Neo Metal Shadow's attack. He helped Shadow up and they soon found each other being backed into a circle.

The four robots circled the eight Mobians, leaving a moment of calm as they stared one another down. They took glances toward each other and started to sweat, seeing that things were starting to go downhill.

Tails' mind was working overtime as he tried to look for a pit in the robots' defenses. Having come upon a conclusion he turned toward the black and blue hedgehogs. "You two think you can whip a storm big enough to cover a small operation?" he questioned of them.

They looked at him and smirked cockily. "Remember who you're talking to, bro." Sonic said as he and Shadow dashed off. They ran in a circle at supersonic speeds, creating a tornado of black and blue. Dust began to pick up and Tails began his part.

He turned toward the girls and said, "Just run outside and flank them." They nodded and ran off into the cover of the storm. Tails then turned to Knuckles and grabbed his hand, throwing him into the wind of the storm. Using the wind, he began gliding through the air and toward the robots.

When Sonic and Shadow had stopped their storm, Knuckles had already landed an intense kick to his metal counterpart. Tails held his hands up behind him and began gathering deep red energy into them.

"Knuckles, get out of the way!" He shouted at the echidna. Knuckles turned to him in question, before seeing the energy ball and retreating from the spot.

Tails smirked and thrust his hands forward, shouting, "INCINERATION SUNBURST!" unleashing a laser of intense heat and licking flames at the robots, completely engulfing them. The flaming beam was like a beacon, burning brightly for a few moments until it finally died out. The results were… less than appreciated.

Tails gasped; his eyes wide open as he gazed at the area where the robots remained to stand, albeit a little charred. Then again, he expected nothing to be left after that attack. "Im-impossible!" He remarked, still awed that they had survived one of his best finishers.

In his gawking, he failed to see the Metal Shadow bot dash forward, hoping to catch him off-guard. This hope was immediately squashed when Alexa blocked its path. She made a quick transformation to her light form, gaining angel wings and a white crystalline long sword. She made a cut toward the robot and the blade shown with a bright light, making a quick incision.

The blade pierced the armor, but it didn't make a very deep cut. She went for a stab instead while it was confused and pierced the area where the heart would've been, had it been living.

Metal Shadow faltered for a moment, but still had the strength to yank the blade out and kick Alexa in the stomach. Oil leaked from the wound in the robot like blood from flesh as it looked right back at them, with unspoken malice in his stare.

Alexa stood, holding the area where she was kicked. She assumed that there were a few broken bones, but she ignored it for now.

They now coordinated their attacks, conforming to simpler tactics, such as focusing on a single target. Sonic rushed forward once more and slid under the Metal Shadow, tripping it up. Shadow then came underneath the robot and kicked it upward. Knuckles was already waiting above for the robot and front flipped, performing a heel kick on the robots head.

Rouge, heaving her XM25 grenade launcher, stuffed a couple explosives into the robot which exploded on contact while it was still in midair. Tails took the opportunity of shooting into skyward, surrounding himself with a white aura till he became a living bullet.

At speeds that surpassed Mach 4, he tore straight through Metal Shadow, leaving the pieces to come down in an inglorious rain of shrapnel. Knuckles, Rouge, and Tails landed on the ground and backed up with the others.

Eggman, who sat in the confines of his Egg Mobile pod, did not let his expression falter as he gazed upon the battle from a distance. It was a shame that one of his finest designs had been destroyed in a matter of minutes, but they hadn't discovered his Dark Chaos emeralds, which was a good sign.

He still had an ace up his sleeve.

They regrouped and decided on their next target to take out: Mecha Knuckles. Amy took out a hammer like weapon and held it in her hands. The hammer was similar to her Piko-Piko hammer, but it had a black and grey color scheme and there were two thrusters in the back. It was Tails' specially designed Gravity Hammer.

She rushed toward Mecha Knuckles and swung her hammer, activating the thrusters and sending a devastating blow to the robot's arm. The robot recoiled violently, sliding back a few feet from the force of the force of the bash. While its arm remained intact, it had a few dents in it.

Amy smirked and attempted the same tactic again. This time though, Metal Knuckles was ready. The robotic copy grabbed the long shaft of the handle just before it made contact. It tore the hammer from Amy's grasp and held the hammer in its hands.

The pink hedgehog looked nervous, seeing her tool of destruction in the hands of the enemy. Metal Knuckles was about to take a swing at Amy revengefully, but Sonic ran in and spin-dashed into the robot.

Seeing Metal Knuckles in such a plight, Mecha Tails and Sonic looked toward each other, making various computing noises before deciding to aid their ally.

Mecha Sonic burst into the fight, grabbing his fleshy counterpart by the neck and bashing him into the ground. The robot prepared a laser in its free hand to fire at Sonic, but was caught off-guard by Shadow who had lobbed a chaos spear at it. The metal on the robot shimmered and was scalded slightly, but there was no major damage.

Shadow glared at the robot and snapped his fingers while saying, "CHAOS MAGIC!" The result of this being an explosion on the robot that blew it back a few meters. Tails then came in, his tails charged with wind, electric, and fire energy. He rolled into a form of spin-dash and hit Metal Sonic head on, dealing multiple blows of damage.

Tails extended his arms and spread apart his fingers afterward. They began to crackle with electricity and he bellowed, "ARC DISCHARGE!" High-voltage electricity streamed from his fingertips and flared into Metal Sonic's body. The robot twitched violently under the strain of the electricity and the armor was beginning to overheat.

Luckily for the bot, Tails couldn't keep up the constant stream of lightning and he eventually tired out. Seeing this pause, Mecha Knuckles ran at Tails and applied a round house kick to his abdomen, sending him reeling back into their group.

He cringed at the injury; almost sure he had broken something. It was in this moment of calm that he noticed the Metal Tails a bit further away, charging up some kind of cannon.

"Uh oh…" Tails muttered as he quickly stood up. The glowing light at the front of the Metal Tails' cannon was fully charged and it was released, turning into a white laser. Tails stood in the path of the laser with one hand outstretched towards the laser and the other hand pointed in another direction.

As soon as the laser was received in Tails' right hand, he felt the energy course through his body and redirect itself at Metal Tails. The robot did something similar, extending its unused hand to intercept the returning laser.

It became a circuit of energy, running through Tails' body, and the body of his mechanical counterpart. It seemed to last like this for minutes at a time, with the brilliant light streaming in two parallel directions.

It lasted, until something gave. Tails' body just happened to give out first. As the energy ran through his body, he could no longer handle the excess chaos power and it had a negative effect on him. It felt like he was being torn apart by miniature explosions inside of his body and the laser stopped abruptly.

A blinding light was cast about them, blinding them. When the light finally died down, they saw Tails standing. Their expression changed, however, from happiness to shock when they saw his upper chest and arms riddled with bloody holes.

He chuckled softly before falling backward. His fall was broken by Cosmo, but she was beginning to tear up at the sight of him. She nodded to the others as she began to slowly heal his body. "What happened, Tails?" She asked him while the fox continued to bleed out.

The kitsune only chuckled slightly at the notion. "There was too much energy for my body to handle." He explained weakly. "My energy circulating system just gave out after too much strain."

"What did I tell you about over exerting yourself, fuzz head?" She comically replied.

He only smiled at that. He turned his head to the side to see the battle continuing. Sonic was battling his counterpart with the help of Amy and Alexa, using well-coordinated tactics to keep Metal Sonic off balance. It seemed to be doing minimal damage though, as Metal Sonic began countering by exchanging his right hand for a machine gun.

Metal Sonic spat bullets at them as they continued to run from the trigger happy robot. They hid behind a nearby rock while the robot continued to spray lead in their general direction.

Over with Metal Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles were attacking the robot with full force. Metal Knuckles was putting up a decent fight, blocking the occasional strike and throwing in a mix of punches and kicks. Tails saw Knuckles get in a good uppercut on the robot while Shadow warped behind Metal Knuckles and kicked it in the back.

Rouge in turn had flown up and prepared her infamous screw kick. She twirled into the robot, knocking it back a few feet as she landed. They all then rushed Metal Knuckles and…

Tails yelped, distracted from watching the fight as his flesh grew back into place thanks to Cosmo's healing. He felt his arms and chest over and winced slightly. It was still a bit tender, but it would have to do.

"Thanks Cosmo." He told her while he stood up. He then crouched, as if he was preparing to race at the Olympics. He braced his self while he revved up his tails. After a while, they were a rotating blur, creating a huge amount of wind. The jet stream he created was enough to allow him to form an arrow of wind in front of him.

He let himself go, flying forward, into, and straight through Metal Knuckles. There was a gaping hole in Neo Metal Knuckles, leaving it to crumble with nothing to help it operate.

He heard a deep chortling and looked up, to be met with the ring leader of it all. "Eggman…" He muttered with malice as the fat megalomaniac slowly floated down in his Egg Mobile pod.

Their arch enemy looked at the piles of scrap that were once Metal Shadow and Metal Knuckles and he shook his head. "Such beautiful creations, destroyed by such rodents." He appeared saddened for a second until he twisted his lips into a grin. "Still, the remaining pieces can be used for something much greater."

"What are you talking about, Eggman?" Tails questioned him while continuing to glare. Whatever was about to happen, it was sure to be dangerous.

A claw protruded from the Egg Mobile and it picked up two glowing objects from the piles of scrap. Tails gasped at the sight of the red and purple objects. "Those are Chaos Emeralds!" He yelled. "But, that's impossible! I have the red and purple ones!"

Eggman shook his head. "Look closely at the emeralds." Tails followed instructions and looked at the gems more closely. He noticed that, rather than the white light that Chaos Emeralds normally gave off, these jewels seemed to have a black sheen to them.

"These are my specially manufactured Dark Chaos Emeralds." The antagonistic mad man explained. "They're meant to run my Neo class robots. Because they are unburdened by the balancing effect of positive chaos energy, their power is effectively equal to two chaos emeralds."

Realization dawned on Tails as he did the math. "You didn't…"

"I did, fox boy." Eggman answered. The dark blue and yellow Dark Chaos Emeralds in Metal Sonic and Metal Tails respectively began glowing. The purple and red emeralds began rotating around them as the robots started levitating.

In a matter of seconds, after the gems rotated around them at blinding speeds, the robots appeared in their new form. The coloration of their armor had become a black and white color scheme and a black aura jetted out from their bodies. They had successfully activated their super forms.

The eight regrouped, knowing that this enemy was slowly becoming too much to face. Super Mecha Sonic extended its hand toward them and the hand began slowly gathering black energy. They all gazed at the energy and shuddered in awe at the intensity of the power.

"Chaos Eradication." The robot muttered in its monotone voice, sending down a rain of dark beams, causing wide spread explosions. One of them erupted near the group, blowing them back a few feet. They were hit by a couple more explosions, resulting in many bruises and cuts all over their bodies.

"Looks like we only have one option, guys." Tails whispered to them. Knuckles, Shadow, and Sonic nodded and got out their items. Tails pulled out five chaos emeralds while Shadow pulled out the other two.

"Knuckles, if you would." Tails suggested, receiving a nod from the echidna.

"The servers are the seven Chaos," Knuckles began the ancient chant. "Chaos is power, enriched by the heart... The controller exists to unify the chaos!"

The emeralds began floating around them, blinding the other four with a bright light. After it had cleared, they had undergone their super or hyper transformations. Their fur had turned golden, except for Knuckles', which had turned pink. Still, Tails kept his white muzzle and chest fur while Shadow kept the red streaks on his spines.

The two groups floated into the air. On one side was Super Mecha Tails and Sonic and on the other was Super Sonic, Hyper Shadow, Hyper Knuckles, and Tails' super form which was power by the opening of a gate. He called this form "Nibi Tails".

At near light speeds, they clashed. Every time they met for blows, blasts of gold shot out. Tails and Shadow were facing Metal Tails while Sonic and Knuckles faced Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic kicked outward, nicking Sonic but not downing him. He countered with solid right hook. Knuckles was off at a distance, firing orbs of golden chaos energy at the robot.

Suddenly, Mecha Sonic pulled back and began shooting a barrage of black lasers at the two, who immediately scattered. Still, Metal Sonic had to stop after a period of time, leaving the two to continue berating the robot with devastating attacks.

Tails and Shadow were coordinating their attacks perfectly, giving Metal tails no break. The two then backed off and Tails swirled his hands around. "CYCLONE SCYTHE!" Tails shouted creating a disturbance of wind so incredibly vast and fierce that it whipped up a miniature sandstorm.

Eggman had to admit, he was losing this battle. In all the possibilities, he never imagined that he'd lose.

That is why he made sure he had _two _aces.

Tails heard a scream and he turned to see Eggman holding Cosmo hostage. He had her bound up in the claw of his Egg Mobile and being held at gun point.

"If you know what's good for her, Tails, then you better give up." Eggman threatened while pushing the barrel against Cosmo's forehead.

Just like before, Tails' world slowed down. All he had done to make sure this wouldn't happen, and it did anyway. Cosmo was held captive, and it was either her, or the rest of Mobian kind. He was caught at yet another cross-road.

His rage was building up. Never had he ever wanted to be put in this situation twice, but it still happened.

He raised his hands in the air, which Eggman assumed that it meant he was giving up. He assumed wrong.

"TOTAL CHAOS CONTROL!" Tails shouted. Faster than reality could comprehend, he appeared behind Metal Sonic and tore him apart. He used it again, only this time we experience it from Tails' view. Everything turned negative. Time had apparently stopped, just for Tails. He floated over to where Eggman held Cosmo captive and he took her from his hands.

He knew he would only have enough time for this move to just put her down before it would be out of his use. He set her down near the group and floated back up to his position, letting time resume. Eggman couldn't believe his eyes when his hostage seemingly disappeared from his sight and Tails had dismantled Metal Sonic with ease.

Metal Tails was still operational, however, so all was still good. Metal Tails' aura increased two-fold, now that it had the full usage of the four Dark Chaos Emeralds under its belt. Beams of energy were being fired in all directions by the nine-tailed copy. It took a great amount of concentration to dodge the lasers and keep themselves out of harm's way.

Tails and the others knew they would have to do one final attack and take them out quickly. They all encircled Metal Tails and clasped their hands together. Their auras grew enormously and they each closed their eyes for concentration

Unanimously, they all shouted, "CHAOS COVENANT!" Almost immediately, a laser of golden energy enswathed them and the Metal Tails robot. The beam extended almost infinitely in all of its glory. A high pitched sound was emitted from the quasar of light as the attack completely devastated the robot, leaving no evidence that it even existed.

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

_Their greatest enemy was finally vanquished. After the attack, Eggman was left completely speechless. Tails floated over to Eggman and said, "Begone with you, tyrant."_

_He laid two fingers on Eggman's forehead and he immediately left the megalomaniac in a crystal-stasis, never to awaken from his slumber. They had finally done it; they had won the war._

Tails wiped his brow from sweat. He had spent too much time on the computer again. He glanced over to the calendar to remember what day it was. It was July, day 15, year 3473.

He looked down to his side by chance and spotted his son, his pride, his joy, looking at the screen. "Father, what's _war_?" The arctic fox asked.

Tails chuckled. "Syaoron, that is something you'll never have to worry about."

Syaoron pouted for a second, but remember the task at hand. "Mom wants you down stairs. She says that you need to help prepare for the party tonight."

Tails raised his eyebrows. "Wait, there's a part tonight?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? You've been planning this for weeks."

Tails furrowed his brow while searching for that memory. He then snapped his fingers. "Oh, _that _party."

He immediately ran downstairs to help Cosmo plan for the wedding. He almost bumped into Sam on the way down. He then looked in the direction of his workshop and growled. "SYAORON PROWER!" He shouted, drawing his son to him. "What did I _tell _you about using the workshop without permission?"

"You told me not to."

"Exactly! Don't do it again, okay?"

Syaoron nodded meekly and Tails continued into the kitchen, swishing his nine tails about. It was time to prepare.

Five hours later, everyone had arrived. Their kids were playing upstairs while the adults were talking downstairs. They had passed around the wine bottle and glasses, each having a comfortable amount of the grape-based alcohol to suit them.

Tails raised his glass at the table, signifying that he had something to say. "Well everyone, it is mine and Cosmo's fifth anniversary today. I'd just like to thank everyone for coming."

Everyone at the table clapped. Those who sat around the table included Knuckles, Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, Amy, Alexa, Melodi, and Shane's time-travelers, excluding Sam and Gary.

"We have so much to be thankful for." Tails continued. "I thank our children for coming back in time to help prevent a disaster a couple of years back. I thank my best friends for encouraging me to get over the opinions of the populace. Let us eat to our hearts content tonight, without a worry in our minds."

A round of hurrahs went around as they ate. Tails pulled out his little white kitsune ball and tossed it up and down while glancing out the window.

Tomorrow was going to be a good day. The day after was going to be a good day.

Life would forever be at peace, and he was perfectly content with that. _Thank you, Lady, _He thanked his mother silently while eating.

_You're welcome, my child._

**End of Tribulations**


End file.
